I'm not ashamed of either, but I do regret the years I spent listening to their caterwauling without responding. That's because the 2013 Annual Meetings started an amazing year for me. Last year's annual meeting was where I announced that I wasn't going to spend the next few months watching, I was getting involved in the battle to take back our country. I had no idea what my "summer project" was going to turn into.
Dave Workman had the inside story and the first look at MyTime2Stand. Dave Workman photo with permission. |
I called it "My Time 2 Stand" -because I wasn't calling on anyone else to mobilize behind me, trot out and change the world. Instead, I thought then, as I know today, that most people weren't oblivious to what was happening, but they'd been convinced by the mainstream that one person couldn't make a difference.
It was a big change for me. After 40 years as a "dispassionate observer" I was going totally out of my comfort zone. And putting my journalistic dedication to neutrality on the shelf concerned me. I've always tried to play "down the middle" as a reporter. This was decidedly not a neutral position.
For me, Indianapolis will figuratively close the loop.
After a long year of travel, my jeep is going back to the factory look. This was the final stop at the opening of Steyr's new Alabama HQ. Jim Shepherd photo. |
The road rig, like the driver, is a bit worse for wear. Fortunately, the damage to them was nothing more serious that some scuffs in wrap. The driver, however, required surgical repairs after a misadventure in Utah (a story for another time).
Last weekend my wife - who found herself alone most of last year - asked a simple question: was it worth it?
That's tough to answer.
It's easy to look back, even after all the miles, speeches, appearances and dozens of conversations -planned and unplanned- without drawing any conclusions.
In Oklahoma City (above), people turned out to greet me at H&H's great facilities in other places (below) the jeep and trailer were the attraction. |
But some very private moments that made it worthwhile, too. Driving across parts of the country I'd never seen firsthand renewed my spirit. And hospitality shown by strangers reaffirmed my belief that good people were still everywhere. A stranger jumping to my defense as a pair of angry young men threatened me for being a "racist" proved neither "right" nor "American" were determined by skin color.
The pivotal event in the trip may have happened as I was driving through Illinois. Glancing into my rear view mirror, I saw a highway patrol cruiser, lights flashing as an officer signaled me to pull over.
No, I wasn't speeding. But was driving a vehicle with a message challenging authority and in possession of guns and magazines that were all illegal in Illinois. Pulling over, I was preparing the worst.
Before I could hand over my license, insurance card and proof of ownership, the officer smiled and said "don't worry, you weren't doing anything wrong."
"I saw your logo and know the wires. And this could put me in all kinds of trouble, but I just had to tell you that everyone in Illinois isn't anti-gun. Plenty of us don't agree and we're not going anywhere. We'll fight to change what's gone wrong, but it will take time."
"So," he said, "don't give up on us."
The rest of this week will be spent in a place where it's obvious not everyone agrees. But a year later, I'm even more convinced that message must be brought home and spread across the rest of the country.
In 2014, we ALL need to stand and send a message that can't be ignored.
--Jim Shepherd