Memorial Day weekend/BikeJam 2011 (Patterson Park, Baltimore)

Well, despite how many crashes there were throughout the day of racing, despite myself and 2 of my teammates getting shelled off the back (for different reasons, but off the back, nonetheless...) and our 4th man getting wrapped up in a nasty little crash himself, our junior's team getting a flat, a crash, and a DQ for gearing...today was pretty awesome.
I know...I know....this is a blog about racing, but indirectly, it's because of the racing that the day was so good. If it weren't for going racing today, my son never would have had the chance to hang out with this guy, who gave him a hat, signed it, and gave multiple high-fives and even took a picture with him. Without going racing today, our juniors team wouldn't have gotten all those free Slurpees, made their own stickers, played on the moonbounce slide, watched the trials riders, or listened to the live bands. We wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to walk up in the pagoda at Patterson Park, and check out the 360 degree panoramic view of Baltimore, including the Inner Harbor.
And, without going racing today, I never would have parked behind a Marine Corp veteran of the war in Iraq. A veteran who I've seen on multiple occasions throughout the Mid-Atlantic circuit. A veteran who continues to race, despite having lost his leg during the second taking of Fallujah (read this...skip to the Iraq War 2003). A veteran who took the time to walk up to me, introduce himself, and begin a conversation. Of course, we began with talking about the day's race and what happened. He candidly joked about his prosthetic, and let me hold the "racing leg". And then he shared with me the story of how he arrived at the point in his life where he needs to wear the above mentioned prosthetic. The story, and his willingness to tell me (a complete stranger) about it, was amazing. In a 20 minute conversation, I learned that he was in the "passenger" seat in a humvee, as his platoon was leading the way, and that not only did they drive over the explosive device that took his leg (and  his platoon leader's life...in the same vehicle), but that they also were ambushed TWO MORE TIMES as they tried to evacuate themselves (and other wounded) from the city. Amazing. I didn't really know what to say. We made small talk for a few more minutes, and then I politely thanked him and we agreed that we'd probably see each other next weekend at the race, and we went our separate ways.
As I drove away, I thought about the conversation. I went over almost every word in my mind. I know it's memorial day weekend, and I've ALWAYS been a HUGE fan of our military (in fact, had I not been DQ'd during my entrance physical, I probably would have made it my career), but today really made me think about our guys (and gals) that fight for our country every day. Maybe they're fighting for our freedom, and maybe it's some political bullshit (or as Carlin would say a "prick measuring contest"), but it doesn't really matter. The fact is, that we have the bravest people on the planet fighting for and protecting the USA. It's a thankless job, and you can guarantee that our government doesn't show them the respect that they deserve. The guy that parked in front of me today get's to sport a Purple Heart license plate, but I wonder what else he got in return for his leg? I'll bet it wasn't much. And today, he continued to give...so to him, and everyone else that either is currently serving or has served in our armed forces....THANK YOU....seriously.