Candle light vigil

My day was not particularly busy as we had a bit of a poster crisis this morning. Mike did not like the way the bike poster looked so we made the decision to have it redone at kinkos. Fortunately there is one right up the street and as luck would have it they are open 24 hours. Our original plan was to take a sight seeing trip to the air and space museum for the day. I told mike and Carolyn to go and I would handle the details of the poster. Mike was so overjoyed he doubled my salary on the spot. Let's see two times zero is------ still zero. Thanks kiwi. They took off and several texts and phone calls later we had a proof to look at for approval. Mike gave the pkwy comet so then the trial was to get kinkos to get it done in the time frame necessary. Originally they figured 8 p.m. And that was not going to work. By this time it was getting on to 1pm so I went out for lunch. Just happened to stop in at the print shop on my way back to the hotel. Did my best hang dog "please help me" act. It worked. Got the commitment for 6 pm. Ummmm hmmmm. Sent the rest of the afternoon working on our next adventure. Gonna be a doozy. By 5:30 it was time to head out for the pick up. Also met mike and Carolyn at the Irish place for dinner again. When you find a winning horse you better ride him until he drops. After dinner I hustled down to the venue for the candlelight vigil at the viet nam memorial wall. Met marilyn stemp from iron works mag there so we could hook up with kiwi when he got there with the bike. We talked him in and thought we had a great strategy figured out for him to get a pic at the wall. This was a personal mission for him to honor a friend and we were determined to get the pic. As we were pushing the bike toward our final destination at the wall a fellow wearing a retired coast guard hat came over to talk about the bike. He was invaluable In helping us get the bike where it needed to be and helping to part the massive crowd gathered for the event. We started getting pics with the wall in the background and they were ok. Then we got bold and pushed the bike down the walk way right next to the wall. These pics were fabulous. The final act was to put the bike in front of the memorial and shoot pics with no people other than kiwi. These pics went off the chart. Go marilyn. Can't wait to see them. It was very cool to see the folks snapping pics while we were pushing the bike down the sidewalk. Every time we stopped the crowd pushed in to snap pics faster and more detailed. Very happy we were able to get these important pics for kiwi and his mates. By this time it was approaching the main event kick off. We worked our way back to the memorial wall not really knowing what to expect or what to actually do. As we trundles down the sidewalk a very kind lady was handing out small candle like glow sticks. These were to be used once the procession started. As we were standing among the crowd a viet nam navy vet next to us began telling us what to expect and the significance of it all. You could tell he felt the happenings around him very deeply and you could not help but respect his solemn nature. He began by explaining about the bag piper leading the procession and then explained the people following behind. There are two groups behind the bag piper. The first group is the Gold Star Mothers. These are women who have lost a son or husband in a conflict. The second group is the Blue Star Mothers. These are women who have active service sons or daughters. The groups are a major source of support for current and past service members and their families. As we stood among the thousands of people you could hear a hush begin to overtake the crowd. The people who did not feel the mood change were gently reminded by several vets in the crowd to show respect. Soon the distant whine of a bag pipe could be heard as the procession began. Slowly the gold and blue star women worked their way down and around the wall. There were no sounds any where except the shuffling of feet down the walk way. Thousands held glow candles at chest height the entire time the line moved past those gathered to honor their loved ones. After the procession was finished there was a pause. Slowly and painfully the mournful wail of the lone bag pipe filled the air. There was no movement and no sound other than the sound of the bag pipe bouncing off the wall behind us all. Once the bag pipe finished the sound of taps filled the air. At the first sound from the trumpet thousands of former and current vets snapped to attention. The deep respect for their fallen comrades was almost too much to bear even for those of us who we observers and distant participants. The vivid scars of past wars bled through the silence. When it was over the person next to you had become a special part of your day and you could not help but shake hands and say good bye like you were neighbors. It was over suddenly and the walk way was void of people in minutes. Each person took away a special moment in time whether you had served or not. You had paid your respects and it felt good and right. I will not forget this nit. The place turned in to a mad house very quickly as people were trying to leave via any means possible. Lots of bikes going every which way and lines of traffic. Mike,Carolyn and I were on our own since we had all gotten there by different means. We walked around a bit and then formulated a cab strategy. Several just drove by so we got a little more creative. This should be interpreted as stand in the middle of the street and wave like a damn fool. We did and it worked. Several minutes later it was home sweet home at the hotel. Tomorrow is a big day as mike presents CG1 along with the other military bikes. I am sure there will be lots of stories.