The Last Four Days

 Been a pretty good time thus far ...

Arrived at Shawnee, KS to spend a few nights (27th & 28th) with my cousin, Mike T. Mike's a West Point grad, former All Army Rugby player, and a retired Colonel. He's been a target I've been chasing for many years while serving. Beyond all his accolades, he's been a great older cousin. Absolutely enjoy spending time with him. Mike fed me with various BBQ dishes which force me to double-down on my diet when I get a few days away from his house! hahaha. The last time we were together was when I was headed out to Fort Carson back in 2015 ... way too long.

I was able to offload the trailer in the RV Lot at Leavenworth (28th) which has made driving around the area much easier. On the 29th, I was able to link up with an old buddy, Ryan VW, from our 1-66AR days back at Fort Carson. Ryan is one of the best leaders I've met in the Army. He genuinely cares, listens, leads, and laughs. Hard to top that, IMO. He's got a great family and loves them well. He just happens to be at Leavenworth for a few weeks, so we made our way over to the Depot for lunch. Nothing quite like walking into a restaurant and the guy working the door/host is packing a Glock on his side. You know it's gonna get interesting. All I can really say is the food was delicious. Their Brussel Sprouts (hope that's how they're spelled) were legit! I like the way I cook them but these guys took it up a notch. Needless to say, I had to work my diet a little differently the next day.

I also got to meet and have dinner with Andrew M. who is the CGSC Chaplain. Great guy and super cool family. Andrew not only serves in the CGSC Chaplain position, but he's also the Lead Pastor for the Protestant Service on Post. He fed me a brat or two from the local farmer's market. Delicious!

Sunday, the 30th, has been a good day. I joined Andrew for worship at 0830 with the Crossroads congregation then met up with Ryan for the service at Church of the Open Door at 1000. Totally different cultures, two different messages, but one Gospel! Great stuff. Because Ryan had to study, I decided I would adventure down to Kansas City for a visit to the National World War I Museum. Glad I did. It's a great museum. Lots of good history but prep yourself ... definitely made me never want to fight a sustained trench war. One of the displays had a quote which said:

"Men die of mud, as they die from bullets, but more horribly. Mud is where men sink and - what is worse - where their soul sinks. Mud hides the stripes of rank; there are only poor suffering beasts. Hell is not fire ... hell is mud."

I can't imagine.

I took the opportunity to do a virtual reality focused on trench warfare. Wasn't sure how I would respond ... but ... knowing full well I was in a safe space, I still can't imagine the sustained terror of surviving the trenches for a day, a week, a month, or the war. Absolutely horrific conditions with the expectation ... your number is coming up. 

Tomorrow, I hope to get out of the hotel and into my abode although the hotel ain't too shabby.