Greetings from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Why would we spend Thanksgiving in Missouri? Our oldest son is graduating basic later today. I took basic at Fort Sill 28 years ago, and my wife graduated in 1989 from Fort Sill. The tradition continues today. We get to spend the afternoon with him, and since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, he will get a pass to go out with us again. Usually, he would be on a plane first thing tomorrow morning. On Friday, he is off to Fort Sam Houston for medic training.

We drove up, both my wife and I carrying the whole way. Well, almost the whole way. Since we wanted to take the scenic route (16 hours of driving), we crossed the Mississippi River into the very southern tip of Illinois. First, we stopped in Wickliffe, Kentucky, unholstered, unloaded, cased, and stored our weapons in the back. Then we drove across the Ohio River into Illinois. One mile later, we crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri. There, we pulled over to the side of the road, pulled out the case, loaded, and holstered again. As I was pulling out the case, a couple big rigs drove past. I couldn't help wondering if the drivers had seen this scene before, and were thinking "Ah, loading up again."

We are taking a different route back, through Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, so we can carry all the way. Nice to live in a part of the country where that is not only possible, but welcomed. The only other time we will be unarmed on this entire trip is when we are on post.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. God bless.