Arlington, Virginia 9-11-11

When you live less than a mile from the Pentagon, and a block away from a large hotel, any thoughts of a quiet day of reflection on September 11th are are to be forgotten.

GG and I don't watch  much TV but we knew the president would be in the neighborhood and we could expect road closings, motorcades, helicopters above and all dogs on leash.

What we didn't expect were the sights we saw while walking the dog.

A motley crew of former Marines on motorcycles were following a fire truck down the hill as we reached the corner. They reached the parking lot before we did and began a laborious process of tying, unfolding and adjusting a very large flag to the ladder of truck no.5. After the ladder was straightened and the flag flew high above our heads, one of them broke into a beautiful acapella rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

The Lab lay panting and GG and I stood listening . 

We walked down the hill  and as we came to our corner we say the hotel parking lot was full of vans and bicycles and police officers in riding gear. They were trying to catch a little shade and enjoy a beer.

They were the Tour De Force, and they had just ridden 290 miles to honor the day and raise money for the families of officers who are killed in the line of duty.

One told us they give $5,000.00 to each family.  It may not seem like much, he said, but when you consider there are 50 or 60 officers killed every year, it adds up.

It seems like a lot to me.  

I just want to thank the people who show up and do their thing.  They probably won't make it on TV, but I don't think that's their motivation. 

I think they show up because they care.