Timeliness?!?

Okay, for starters, I’m an historian.  That means I live in the past, so 24 hours late is actually on time for me.  That said….

I went to Sturgis, South Dakota last week. This is a sweet little town in the Black Hills that is sleepy and slumbering about 50 weeks out of the year.  The other two weeks it is the hub of The Black Hills Rally which bikers just call Stugis.

I went glamping (glamor camping) with my sister (Hi Moe) and her family.  There is something to be said for the glamping, hot showers and air conditioning being on the top of the list. I also enjoyed having my own room, even if the evil sister in law was banished to the garage, it was a nice garage.  But it misses something that tent camping has since you’re not sitting around outside and getting to know your neighbors.  Oh well.

We camped in Keystone, which is the front door of Mount Rushmore.  It was the perfect place, close enough to everything we could go and play, far enough away it was very quiet at night.  Had a creek flowing behind the camp site and presidential faces looking down on us.  The boardwalk, which is where things were happening in Keystone was about a block away, as was the Alpine Slide, which we of course had to go down.

The bikes were great.  Deadwood was so crowded we didn’t get a chance to play non-biker tourist but I do believe I’ll go back later and enjoy. Custer was a fun little town with a senior center that made amazing buffalo sloppy Joe’s.  Custer State Park was beautiful.  The Needles Highway is a breathtaking experience.  Crazy Horse Memorial was humbling.  But Mount Rushmore…

We went and did the Mount Rushmore evening show.  Apparently they have a few shows that they rotate through, which is good for everyone.  And I truly wish all the politicians would quit their squabbling long enough to go and see this.  After the main show they invited vets, active military, and families who had folks serving overseas or who had lost folks in military service to come down to the stage.  Everyone stood and sang The Star Spangled Banner, and then they did they retired the colors for the evening.

Picture it, after dark, a crowded stage at the bottom of amphitheater seating, the only lights in the area are on the stage and the presidents faces looking down on them.  The rain is starting to gently fall.  Most of the people that stepped forward to do the flag ceremony were bikers.  The national anthem is sung and the colors are retired by large men in leather with two young boys “helping” and hanging on every action and every word.  The guy who was calling was miced, so it was this almost surreal set of actions taking place.  And I’m standing at the top of the amphitheater, in the light rain, and I realize some of those raindrops are warmer than others.  Tears are silently streaming down my cheeks.  It was amazing, humbling, heart warming, touching, tender, and so many other things I don’t have the words for.

So, after that ramble… When have you found yourself unexpectedly touched by something: a bright shaft of joy, sadness, humbleness, love, anything that
you weren’t expecting?

101 comments August 16th, 2007