monday morning

On a normal Monday morning, I leave my home about 7:00 a.m. for a two plus hour trek to my office in Melrose Park, IL. I’ve tried all kinds of different times, but this seems to turn out the most reasonable traffic, and ultimately wastes less of my time.

This morning, while I was just coming out of some road construction, there was a police squad car bearing down on me at breakneck speed. Of course, the first thought was he’s coming after me. But, I pulled over and he sped on ahead.

A few minutes later, I saw several squads surrounding three coach style buses. traffic was moving behind them, but none was really passing. They seemed to be setting the pace for traffic, but not going any faster. At the time, I was wondering if we were watching a “Speed” movie in real life.

But, then one squad car peeled off and another took its place. Periodically, the squads would block off all lanes and the buses would change lanes. It was the weirdest thing.

When the highway became more than four lanes, traffic began to pass on the left. I was one of those people. I rubbernecked to see what was going on. In the window, I could see some camouflage clothing.

Then it occurred to me. These squad cars were an escort for some new Marines going to the airport, presumably to some hell hole in the Middle East. Their lives were going to change forever. This was their send off.

I couldn’t help but wonder what each of these people was thinking, about the families left behind, and their dreams. Was this what they thought would happen when they signed up? How would they cope with the coming days, months, years?

With all of that said, I want to say thank you to all of you and Sempre Fi.