There was a time in my life when I was being controlled, manipulated really, by an outside force. It started innocently enough, but over time, I was consumed. My hours and days revolved around this outside force. I have no one to blame except myself, I am the one that allowed it to control me. 

We all make bad decisions in our youth. We are told that the most important thing is that we learn from those situations. Sometimes, the most important part is to learn before that decision affects your life, causing a butterfly effect that ripples throughout your lifetime. 

For me that time was when I started smoking as a teenager. Slowly, over time, these things started to dictate my life. Most of my time became engrossed with thoughts of when I could get my next cigarette. Everything revolved around when I could get my next puff, my next nicotine fix. While there was a chemical addiction, the biggest part of it was the habit of getting a smoke at certain times. I was in the habit of looking forward to lighting up, I was in the habit of needing one. God forbid that I run out of cigarettes. I always had to ensure that I had enough to get me through my next shift. 

I had sunk to becoming one of Pavlov’s dog’s, but instead of a bell it was other triggers. Getting in the car…ring…time to light up, stopping at a convenience store…ring…better get a pack, break time…ring, ring…go outside to light up. When I came to the realization that these little white sticks were controlling me, that’s when I got mad. Mad at myself for allowing it, mad at myself for letting it go on so long. I was ready to change things.

For those unfamiliar with Ivan Pavlov, he was a Russian neurologist who discovered that the dogs involved in his experiments would salivate almost on command when a sound was associated with their food. Basically, he would ring a bell right before he fed the dogs. Eventually, the dogs started to salivate at the sound of the bell, not the sight or smell of the food. They became accustomed to a pattern.

My entire existence had become finding the next opportunity for a cigarette, waiting for the next bell, as it were. It had consumed me. The warning labels tell us that smoking causes lung cancer, that it is harmful to fetuses. Commercials show us people who have suffered the long term health effects of smoking, but they never talk about the all consuming effect that they have on one’s life. We are not warned about the constant desire for the next one.

Once I recognized the problem and identified the triggers, I was able to change the habit. Not to say it was an easy habit to break, but identifying the triggers and avoiding them made it much easier, no more bells.

We all get into habits like this without realizing it. While it is not always as detrimental to our physical health, it can destroy our mental or emotional health, and even sabotage our lives. We get into the habit of negative thinking, the habit of self-deprecation or the habit of not believing in ourselves. Without realizing it, we become one of Pavlov’s dogs.

As runners, we tend to get into negative thought patterns which can lead to less than desired results either in our races or our training runs. In fact, they can outright destroy dreams. For some, one little thing going wrong in a race will have domino-like results in upcoming miles. A negative thought will fester in our mind and start to consume us. Before we know it, misery has consumed our minds, like the nicotine consumed my thoughts. The trick for runners is to know when a situation has taken a turn, when we are about to go down that spiral of despair, and realize that a trigger has happened. Then you must stop those negative thoughts before they cause the entire run to go off track. 

We also tend to do this in life as well. 

Negative thought patterns manipulate our decisions, guide our judgements. We refuse to step out of our comfort zone because we have a habit of telling ourselves that we are not worthy, that we cannot accomplish something great. 

At least with cigarettes there is a tangible item to blame, the problem with negativity is that we often have nothing physical and no one source. The root cause could be some childhood incident, some discouragement from an adult, a failure on a school project, it could be any number of things that built up over time and started the pattern. In the end, the source does not matter as much as knowing the triggers and the pattern, then making the attempt to change them.

What have you missed in life because you were afraid to take a chance? 

As the trees have lost the last of their fall vestiges, the holidays have gone, we often reminisce on the previous year. Thoughts of family gatherings fade and the reflections of losses and turmoil the previous year spawned come to mind. It is only appropriate that this happens in the winter season. Winter is the season that brings a dormancy, out of this dormancy will eventually grow new life in the springtime.

I have never been one for New Year’s Resolutions or the whole concept of changing your entire life simply because we have changed the calendar, I have always felt that sometimes it was just a way of putting off much needed changes. Yet, here I am, looking forward to a better year.

Over the last few months, I have been experiencing a gradual shift in my thoughts and energies. I have realized that somewhere in the years, I have lost sight of myself, of who I am. This has prompted me to come to the realization that there is something to a resolution, but that I had it wrong. The new year should be a time to stop and take a deep breath and relax into the changes we want to create in our lives, meditate on where we need improvements and, most importantly, take stock of what is going right.

Like the new hope that is spring, our changes generally happen gradually. Trees do not suddenly fill out with leaves, they slowly grow into the new season. Over the course of days and weeks they begin to fill out with leaves, flowers, fruits and nuts. Like trees on the spring equinox, the stroke of midnight on December 31st did not in itself bring a change to a person, it is a temporal landmark, an arbitrary milestone. Personal changes are not sudden like the flipping of a page, they are gradual and take planning. 

Recently, I was listening to the Mel Robbins podcast. She said something, almost in passing. She said that we get into the habit of negative thinking. This statement hit me right in the chest. I was in the habit of negative thinking! It had never occurred to me that any thought pattern could be a habit, I thought that this was simply how I was wired to think. Once I saw this tendency, the challenge became finding the bells, the triggers.

For me, I have so much that has gone wrong in the last year that I haven’t really looked at what has gone right for me. It has become a habit to look for the bad. Negativity had become a habit, it can be changed. 2022 brought more negative for me than I care to go into here, but suffice to say, I got into a tremendous rut of looking at the gloom and doom. In the process, I was blinded to the good around me. I created a negativity bias in my life. It would be easy to say that this last year was one of loss, but that is taking the pessimistic view. I choose to look at the gains I have made, the indisputable good that has come out of the mess I call my life.

I have plans for 2023 and beyond, but to get there, I have so many things I need to do. These will not happen just because I bought a new calendar, they will happen gradually, like the slow bloom of spring. The most important thing I plan on doing is breaking the habit of looking at all the negative, starting a habit of looking for the positive. 

As Max Ehrmann said “And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

In 2023 that is all I can do, strive to be happy. The reality is, that is all any of us can do, strive to be happy.

The tradition on this day is to reflect on the past year. What a year I have had, such a roller coaster. I was at my lowest early on, but now that low seems like it will lead me to my highest. That is how it usually happens, yet, in the midst of the darkness, it becomes so hard to see a new path in front of you.

You think that you have your life planned out, then you are blindsided by some circumstance and it is all over. All the plans and dreams are gone. You have to step back and reset your plans and goals. That is easier said than done and until that happens, your life is in a suspended state, purgatory, the bardo, whatever you call it, life cannot go back to what it was. But you are still there, unable to move forward. You can’t move at all. All you can do is sit there in shock.

Slowly a new path appears. Overtime, this new path, this new trail, becomes clearer and more vivid. When you look back on that old path, it has become overgrown and dense with cob webs. Almost undetectable. Those dreams and goals lay like broken limbs and dead trees on the old path. You start to look at things in your past differently, you see details that you missed. You realize that it was not the best trail for you, you just thought it was.

Slowly, this old trail starts to fade, the fog of time becomes dense and dark, then a new path appears. You start taking a few timid steps towards it. You have to remind yourself that the darkness of the past trails cannot be so powerful that it consumes the sunshine of the new path, the new future that is ahead of you.

This is where so many people go wrong, they spend so much time thinking and looking at the old dark, overgrown trails, they don’t see the new one in front of them. They don’t get a full chance to enjoy the new path in all it’s glory.

I choose to look ahead! The new path deserve my full attention. Looking back will only rob ourselves of the beauty of the new trail. The old path is behind me, now is the time to look forward, not backwards.

It has been said that the person who stands at the starting line of an ultra is not the same person who finishes. While that is true, it can also be said that the person who stands at the starting line is not the same one who signed up for that ultra.

Many of us spend hours planning the perfect race, using the perfect training plan and visualizing the perfect outcome. We often miss the fact that life is not perfect. Things change, weather does not cooperate, crews get delayed in traffic, the list goes on and on.

When faced with a unique circumstance, that’s where you are changing. Are you facing the problem head on and adapting to it or are you reacting? Reactions are emotional responses. Getting angry because the weather is bad does nothing to help your situation. It’s weather, there is not one thing you can do to change it. You can, however, adapt to it. If it’s raining, get the rain gear and keep moving. It’s just water after all. If it’s hotter that planned, adjust your pace, drink more water.

Reacting is just a waste of energy, but learning to adapt is what will get you to the finish line. Learning to adapt, that’s the biggest training obstacle, no matter what the distance is. Planning and training for a big race is a process of self-evolution. We must learn ourselves on a deeper level.

Mike Tyson famously said “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This is why we need to be ready for anything. The situation is always changing, especially in a race setting. So many things can go wrong during a race or during training, we must constantly evolve and adapt to the situations. If your training has not challenged you mentally, then have you really trained at all?

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It is the same in life. We continually have plans and paths we wish to follow. And then that punch. Sometimes that punch hits you squarely in the face. We all have that moment in our lives when it all changes, but for some that moment, that punch is bigger. That punch is a life changing health situation. When faced with these types of punches, one can either cower down and hope that the hit isn’t too bad, or they can stand up and face it.

When facing these situations, it seems that the young have a unique stance. They tend to face the situation with more courage and resolve, but they seem to be the only one they know who is facing the same fight. When cancer strikes, how many of your friends have faced that? Then there is the question of moving past the diagnosis and treatment.

First Descents was founded in 2001 by professional kayaker, Brad Ludden. the idea was to allow young cancer survivors a chance to connect not only with others who had shared a similar journey, but to reconnect with themselves.

The idea was to take these survivors on epic multi-day adventures such as, climbing, paddling and surfing. The program has been shown to decrease rates of depression in these fighters while increasing self-confidence. Being with others who have shared in the struggle helps reduce the feelings of isolation, of alienation that comes with the unique battle.

While the programs are life changing, they are not free. This is why, in 2019 I decided to join the First Descents Leadville Trail 100 team. Each year I pledge to raise funds to send these young adults who have been impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions on these adventures.

Ultra-marathons, and running in general, have been the life-changer for me. This is my way of changing for others. Join me in helping these young fighters by donating at my fundraiser. This, my third year on the team, is a little more exciting. I have a donor, who has agreed to match all funds, dollar for dollar, up to my pledged amount. This means, every dollar you donate is worth two dollars to First Descents.

Trail Runner Nation podcast released an episode a late last year, in which the guest, Hillary Gerardi, spoke of courage. More specifically she spoke of the French term “Bon Courage” which is essentially an encouragement meaning good luck. Literally translated it means “great courage”. She discusses her philosophy of building courage with “little c’s and BIG “C’s”.

They use the analogy of having a bag of courage, filled with big and little “c’s”. Big acts of courage and little acts of courage. They discussed how every little action adds a little courage to the bag. During the discussion several other “c” words were added to the bag, for example, confidence.

I’ve gone back and listened to it several times, and each time I felt like there was something they were missing. Something in that grab bag that wasn’t mentioned. I finally realized that there is one huge “C” that was left out, but it is somewhat understandable. Most runners, and athletes of all sports for that matter, forget it. Maybe it’s just that they don’t want to face it, they don’t have the courage for it. It has taken me weeks to realize what was missing…

That big “C” is convalesce.

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We all hate down time from injury, it’s worse than tapering. At least with a taper, there is an end in sight, a future release for all that energy. With the convalesce, there are so many unknowns, so many question marks.

It takes “bon courage” to take the time off to allow the body to recover. We just are not wired to admit that we are vulnerable humans. There is a fear of missing out and a fear of losing fitness, but constantly running hard paces puts many into dangerous territory – the injury zone.

When I experienced my first sidelining injury, it was devastating. In truth, it was only minor; only couple of weeks off. In the grand scheme of things, two weeks isn’t a very long time.

As a runner, this seemed like eternity. What had I done to bring the ire of the running gods? Oh, how my life was doomed.

Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a little, but we have all had similar thoughts. When something you love is taken away, however temporarily it might be, it feels as though the world has conspired against you. Time suddenly drags, like an analog clock ticking off the seconds – tick…tick…tick…tick…

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Roger Bannister spent months training to break the 4-minute mile. While he improved his lap times, eventually, he plateaued. His training became stagnate; faster times were not coming. Roger, his coach and his teammates knew what was needed, some down time, some convalescing. That is exactly what they did on April 22. Six days off from the strict training regiment.

On May 6, 1954 the time convalescing paid off. A rested Roger ran one mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.

Like Roger, if many of these overtaxed, exhausted runners had just taken a few days here and there, they would not need anywhere close to the time off that they are forced to take.

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The body needs rest, it actually allows us to become faster and better. The body gets stronger during rest, not stress. Short rests during the training cycle, days off here and there won’t hurt you, they will heal you. Not taking these days, ignoring your body will force you to take time off.

The best advice I was given during my injury was to look at all the athletes that had taken time to heal. Their performances did not get worse, in fact, many actually improved. Their bodies had time to rest and recover properly. Instead of chasing medals and glory, they had allowed themselves the chance to breath, a chance to heal. They had pulled convalesce out of their grab bag of courage.

In 493 B.C. the Athenians were under attack from the Persians on the plains of Marathon, Greece. Outnumbered 4:1 the Athenians sent a messenger the 150 miles across rugged, mountainous terrain to Sparta, asking for help. The Spartans agreed, but would not join the fight, due to a religious celebration, until the moon was full. The messenger returned with the news.

By the time the messenger, Pheidippides, returned, part of the Persian army were heading towards Athens while the remaining Persians had been defeated. News of the situation needed to get to Athens, so Pheidippides was on the run again.

Legend says that he arrived and proclaimed victory, then collapsed and died.

The modern marathon is much less intense than the one Pheidippides ran. Most are on nice smooth roads, relatively flat and usually there are many other runners to keep you company.

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The one of the exceptions to this is called the Athens-Big Fork Marathon. It starts in the small community of Big Fork, Arkansas and runs to a town called Athens via an old mail route trail.

After the heartbreak at Leadville, I was informed that I would be running in this marathon. Everything had been arranged everything, including time off from work and getting me registered. I was excited and nervous. I had just failed at a mountainous race, how would I be able to do this other one?

This race has 8 mountains on an out and back course, meaning 16 climbs. Some of these are actually steeper than Hope Pass in the Leadville 100, although not as long.

I went into this race, admittedly undertrained. It seems that this is easy for any of us to do in those races immediately after the holidays, but add that I had been fighting a cold the week before and you have a recipe for a disastrous race. I was not about to pull out of this one, I had wanted to try it for way too long.

The morning started off in the mid 30’s with a light rain. The temperature was suppose to get into the low 50’s. I knew that the rain was to only get heavier as the day wore on.

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As we took off, I ran with my friend, Ken. We kept a decent pace, but I wasn’t feeling great. I guess my lungs were not back a full capacity, I just could not catch my breath. I told Ken to go ahead and run his race, I didn’t want to pull him down. In my mind, I was thinking that I could turn around at Blaylock Creek aid station at the 8.5 mile mark and accomplish the shorter 17 mile “fun run”, but I refused to make that decision until I got there and took a minute to reset my mind.

By the time I got there, the rain was still light plus I saw friends and family there, it was a small mental uptick, so I decided to continue for the full marathon.

One of the toughest climbs in the race is right after leaving this aid station. As I climbed, that’s when the RAIN started, I would not be dry again until I was finished.

Runners often hear Forrest Gump comparisons ad nauseam, but I felt like I was in that movie. Not the running parts, but the scenes of the rain in Vietnam.

“We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain… and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.“

We all go through ups and downs during a race, this one will cause you to do it mentally and physically. I was no longer counting miles, I was counting mountains. I knew there were a total of 8 each way, 16 ascents, 16 descents.

Forget the GPS watch, when I hit the top of number 8, I knew a downhill and a little bit of dirt road, then back to the start-easy enough, or so I told myself. Many times the “out” is much easier on the mind and body than the “back” in a race like this.

All the rain had started turning the trail into creeks. I asked myself out loud if I had signed up for a trail race or a duathlon. The small creeks and streams that I had crossed on the way out, were deeper now and flowing a little faster.

Up to this point, I had never made the connection that Pheidippides ran a mountainous trail to Athens to carry a message of victory and here I was on the old route that was for mail delivery…to Athens.

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Things started coming apart on me somewhere around the 9th or 10th climb, my thighs began to seize on me. All the braking I had been doing on the downhills because of the mud was starting to take its toll on me. I kept telling myself, just make it to the next aid station, just after mountain number 11. I could sit down, reset mentally and get some food. This would be the aid station where my friends were. (It’s also the one known for their “Arkansas Crepes”-pancakes with peanut butter and jelly.)

The few minutes of rest and some nutrition were exactly what I needed. I felt ready to finish. My legs felt like they were coming back. I wasn’t sure how far it was, maybe 8 miles or so, but I knew I had 5 mountains left. I got a rhythm in my head, 3 mountains, an aid station, 2 mountains, then some dirt road, and 3/4 mile of paved road, then I would be done.

And that’s where my problems started. It was actually 4 mountains, before the next aid station. While it didn’t change the distance, it can be demoralizing when you expect an aid station and you see another damn mountain. I was towards the back of the pack by this time, so I was alone on the trail. I started to question whether I was still even on the course, I saw the marking but I was second guessing them. By now the worst rain of the day was hammering me as I started to climb that fourth mountain. The sound of wind and rain inundated me, I couldn’t hear my feet hit the ground. My legs were getting worse than they had ever been. My calves were starting to cramp, visibly.

This is probably the lowest I have ever been while running.

Here I was, on a 25% grade, winds howling, rain pounding, all I could do was dig deep and hope for the best. I was in too far to quit, all I could do was push on. After watching Leadville slip away, I could not let this one get me also. Athens-Big Fork was not going to break me. There was no option, other than finishing. Plus, there was a burger for me at the finish line and that sounded like it would hit the spot.

Finally the rain had let up and I was on a little downhill, then I saw a creek crossing. There are many creek crossings in this race, but this one had a directional marker for runners that I remembered. I knew that just beyond it was the last aid station! Then, I could hear the volunteers. Going into the last aid station is a boost to the moral of any runner and a boost was needed at this point.

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One mountain left to conquer. Now, on paper, this last mountain isn’t all that bad. In fact it’s probably the shortest climb of all, but I wasn’t dealing in theories. I had around 22 hard miles on my legs by this point. Most of those were either hard climbs or steep, muddy downhills. What got me over that 16th climb was my mind. I was all but done and I kept telling myself that I was a finisher. I just had to prove it by getting over one more mountain. I hit the crest of 16 and through the trees I saw a field in the valley below, the valley where the finish line waited.

As much as I love downhill running, this was not the time for it. My legs and the mud would not allow me to enjoy that last slope. I slid down the best I could, then found that dirt road. Just a couple of miles to go. I decided that I would alternate running and walking. While I wasn’t moving fast, I was moving and soon, I could hear cars. The highway was near.

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While we like to think of race finish lines where there are lots of people cheering and encouraging the runners, this is not the case in most trail and ultras. Especially at small runs like Athens-Big Fork. I came up the road and turned into the Big Fork community center and was greeted by the race director, Stacy, and the time keeper. That was it, no crowds, no frills, no medals. But I did get the pride of accomplishment and the deep-self satisfaction of finishing one of the toughest trail marathons around and that’s better than any medal collecting dust. I went inside, changed into dry clothes, got my burger and went home.

Numbers seem to run our lives. We are constantly bombarded with numbers and metrics that compare us to each other. We create these yardsticks just to make one person seem superior, or twist it to make another inferior.

How much does he make, that house costs more than this one, who had the highest sales, the statistics and surveys…they are all just numbers to obsess over.

The numbers matter so much to many that app developers work in “streak” counters for their apps. I have fallen victim to this one myself. Several apps that I have count how many days in a row, how many weeks in a row that I have used it. When I miss a day, I kick myself a little that the little counter on the app is back at zero.

One app in particular, I had a streak of over 500 days. Then we were on a trip and I wasn’t able to use it for a day and the streak was dead. At first, I was devastated. After some mourning, I came to the realization that it did not really matter in the grand scheme of things. Who did I truly let down? Who was I trying to beat? No one! Sometimes these numbers take too much control over our lives and emotions.

I realized that the number on the app did not matter, but for some, the constant comparisons to others can lead to anxiety and depression. It can distort their self-image, leading them to believe that they are not good enough.

Running the numbers

The number obsession applies to running also, they can be the most dangerous thing that most runners deal with. These constant comparisons to other runners can lead someone to over-train or hurt themselves.

Some will plan out their weeks and try to make room for as many miles as possible. Spend hundreds of dollars on a watch to tell them the numbers, then realize that its not accurate enough for them, so they spend even more to get better numbers. They adjust the pace to make a particular heartrate zone, hoping it will maximize the fitness level.

From paces in workouts, number of intervals, or race times. Lately, I have even seen runners comparing their total number of races. Any number available to make ourselves feel better.

I’m not saying that these numbers don’t matter or don’t affect results, on the contrary, they provide great yardsticks for improving performance. They become a problem when they become an obsession.

The numbers that matter

In the movie “City Slickers” there is a scene that always spoke to me. The main character, Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is a sales executive from New York. Mitch is looking to decompress from his mid-life crisis by taking a trip with two friends. They go to a dude ranch style cattle drive.

This cattle drive is led by Curly, played by Jack Palance. Curly and Mitch don’t exactly see eye to eye, but after a series of events that force the adversaries together, they begin to form a bond.

Having seen many others in the same emotional state, Curly offers some sage advice for Mitch:

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [pointing index finger skyward] This.

Mitch: Your finger?

Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.

Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?”

Curly: [smiles and points his finger at Mitch] That’s what you have to find out.

That’s great advice for anyone, even a runner, but what’s the one thing? According to Curly, that’s for you to discover. But I have a starting point for you…the mile.

Not your mile time, the mile, you know the one mile that you are currently running. Stop thinking about how fast or slow you might be going and just run this mile. Stop ruminating on the next hill and just run this mile. Stop kicking yourself over that last split and just run this mile.

A few drops of rain spattered on the windshield as we headed towards the forest for our training run. The temperature was already hovering in the low 40’s, so the rain wasn’t exactly welcome. Quickly, before cell reception was lost, we checked the radar on our phones.

The image on the screen wasn’t promising. As we moved north towards the trail head, an ominous colored blob on the screen was moving towards the west. We would be meeting the blob about the time we started our run.

A cold rain was not what I wanted to accompany me on my run, but it was what Mother Nature had dealt me. I tell myself that these are the days that build my inner strength, that build my mental fortitude and in a strange way, it builds my determination. It’s these bad days that numb me to the uncomfortable times that will surely come during an ultra-marathon.

We had not prepared for rain, the forecast from the night before had put it coming in later that afternoon, which is why we had opted to start this early. The cold front would not allow the temperatures to rise much, so my short sleeves would not be of much use. I did have a rain jacket in my truck, so that could be of some use.

As I head off, the rain gets harder, but the temperature is steady. The hourly forecast had been updated and now called for the rain to taper off, at least the last few miles might not be as bad.

My luck and, more importantly, the forecast, would not hold.

I am training for the Leadville 100 and the Rocky Mountains are notorious for changing weather conditions. This rain, I tell myself is merely a trial run for what lays before me. I will be running a race that could be in the mid 30’s at the start and climb up to the 70’s.

In the first few miles, I start to get use to the rain and being a little cold. I start to get my focus on the run and ignore the discomfort of the weather conditions.

These are the days that make us. If all the training miles were easy, we would not know how to handle the hard times during our races. As the old saying goes, smooth seas don’t make a sailor. Rain, cold, heat, hills; they make the runner. If I can learn to handle days like this, it will only help me in the end. It will not guarantee me a finish, it will simply aid me in my quest.

Leadville is a legendary race. It did not come by its reputation by being sunny and easy. The days when most people don’t run or opt to run on the treadmill, these are the days when I will earn my finish, these are the days that I will earn my buckle.

 

Over the last few years I have noticed that more and more people thank me for my service. At first it was somewhat awkward, I did not know how to respond. I was a teenager who wanted to serve my country and see the world, why would they thank me?  What was I suppose to say? You’re welcome just does not seem appropriate. Over time I have started saying “no problem” or what seems like the most standard for veterans- “I was just doing a job”.

Over time I have just come to accept it for what it is, a way for someone to show a little gratitude for sacrifices we have made. I have even noticed that veterans have started thanking each other. This seems to me like a verbal fist bump, as if saying “yeah, I understand”.

Last weekend, though, I received a thank you unlike any other I have heard. I was in Nashville and we had taken an Uber to get downtown. I ended up in the front seat and started a conversation with the driver. As it turned out he was Kurdish, I told him that I had been a part of Operation Provide Comfort and was stationed in Turkey after the first Gulf War. During this operation, U.S. and allied forces defended Iraqi Kurds and provided humanitarian relief.

It was dark and I could not see the driver’s face, but I heard his voice start crackling. He thanked me. He told me that I have no idea how many lives we had saved there. When he was 4 years old, Saddam Hussein’s forces bombed his village, killing his grandfather and 2 year old sister. One of his earliest memories is of the naked bodies of his family members and other victims being thrown into a mass grave on the same day of the bombing. I was in shock, no child should have to see this.

His enraged father became a leader in a humanitarian organization. Apparently, a fairly effective leader because a price was eventually put on his head. Bodyguards were a constant presence.

In 1996, they decided that they had had enough and immigrated to Nashville, Tennessee. Apparently, there is a large population of Kurdish immigrants in the area. So many that there is an area referred to as Little Kurdistan.

My driver now loves the area. He said that he once went back to his native land, but decided that the United States was now his home.

As the ride came to an end, he thanked me again and gave us some advice on places to go while we were in town. (if you are in the area make sure to check out Peg Leg Porker Bar-b-Que).

This is the one thank you that will always stand out to me. It wasn’t awkward, it was the most sincere one I have ever received. To my Uber driver, Shorishvan, you are very welcome!