There's nothing out there but desert! It certainly has it's own beauty for sure. As were were driving out there, there were times when all four of us where quiet as we looked at the vista. The mountains were really awe-inspiring. They're tall and jagged, sharp. Like rows of sentinels guarding the long, long view. For most of human history, deserts have been unforgiving, inhospitable places! But from the car window, driving through it, there was a real beauty in the brush and sand and rocks. Almost like it was a giant Zen garden, arranged with simple beauty in mind.
I used to live in El Paso, TX, just across the state line from Las Cruces. We left back in '93- almost 18 years ago. We landed in El Paso yesterday afternoon, and ended up icking up a few things before making our 40 minute drive to Las Cruces. I asked if we could go by where I used to live - I remembered there was a grocery story out there, and my old house was very close to it. So off we went. And seeing my old house - the first house my wife and I bought as a married couple - brought back a lot of memories.
This trip has been filled with memories so far; our former home, our former church, places we used to go, things we used to do... the adobe, the colors, the smells, all this brings me back to yesterday as if it really were yesterday. I still feel like I'm 23! I've done another revolution in the spiral- but I bring with me almost twenty years of life, of experiences - the same... only different. How fast the time goes. It's hard not to look back on this time and ask how these last twenty years have been spent.
Did I spend it well? Did I make the right choices along the way? The road less traveled...??? Had we made this decision or that one, where would my wife and I have ended up? Truth is- we could play "second-guessing" all day. We're together, and we have two beautiful children. I don't know what could have been had we done this, or not done that, just as I don't know what will happen tomorrow. But we're a family now, today. All we can do is do our best together and take it one day at a time.
We in-processed at the Family Center on Post. We got our March numbers, our chips to put on our boots, we got our commemorative T-shirts, and of course had the opportunity to get a whole lot of memorabilia from this event - some of it cool, but a lot of it over-priced I thought.
But we did get a chance to see three Bataan Death March survivors from back in 1943. The things these men went through is absolutely unreal! But that they could be there talking about it, signing autographs and laughing... after what they went through is phenomenal! "The Battling Bastards of Bataan - no mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam!"
Once we got all that done, we came back to Las Cruces, and made our way to a small - and very historic place call ed Old Mesilla... a place where Pancho Villa came to, a place where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to death. Around a main town square- from right out of the movies it seemed (think back to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly") with an old church at one end and very old buildings all around the periphery of the square. They housed mostly stores, selling everything from touristy trinkets to high-end jewelry.
We had lunch there, then headed back to pick up any last minute things we might need. We've been mentally going through our check-lists: do we have enough food for the march? Do we need anything to keep the wind off us? We have to be arriving on Post no later than 4:30 AM, and it is supposed to be pretty cold at that hour. I have to make sure I have enough stuff to go in my ruck; I've got to carry what I'll need, plus make sure I have anything extra so my rick weighs enough. We are encouraged to bring food to donate to the food-bank (last year, the marchers brought enough to make over 11 thousand pounds of food!). I have three 10-pound bags of rice, plus my gear (changes of boots, socks, shirt, pants, towel, food, water, and some incidentals), so I should be okay... I think.
As I was in-processing, an older lady activated my boot chip. As my name came up on her computer, she said- "There you are- Chad Kline, 45 years of age. Oh, you're in the "heavy" division (meaning I'd be carrying a ruck) huh? Well, very good. Good luck." What the heck lady!?!?! What, do I look too old to be doing this?!?!?! Way to inspire me!
No... we're going to make it! All four of us are going to make it! Drive on!... All the way!
Thing is, this is just as much mental as it is physical. We saw parts of the route as we drove in and out of post - there's this hill we're supposed to go up and over... somewhere around mile 17. This is before the "sand pit" we'll be hitting further down the road. Sounds more grueling by the day. Drive on!
Well, it's the end of the day, we just had dinner, and I've been here for about an hour typing- 10 PM local time- but for me, it's after midnight- time for bed! Tomorrow we relax, do our last minute prep, pack our rucks, make sure our gear is in order. And we get ready in our heads! And sleep! because it'll be a VERY early day!
more later-
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