2026-1976 = 50, Yes 50 Years

Today was a reunion.

A few of you have known me long enough to know that about 3 lifetimes ago, Omer led bicycle trips for young people in the summer.

In 1976, at the 200th Anniversary of the USA, we put together a group of 35 guys, all high school age, to ride across the country, Washington state to Delaware, Pacific to Atlantic Ocean.

There were 35 riders, I drove the bus you can see above (support vehicle, kitchen, repair shop, etc.) Baby Steve (not quite 2) was a "bus buddy." Two other females went: the mother of one of the riders who was also a nurse, and a high-school girl. They helped in the bus and helped care for Steve.

A couple of the guys started planning a 50th reunion about a year ago. Today, 17 of the participants and a lot of family members gathered. This is just those who were actually on the trip.

Lots of memorabilia was brought to display, including some original shirts and jackets. Ed, the primary organizer, wrote to a number of the towns we went through and got them to send a letter celebrating the trip. Albums of photos, patches, two media shows made from photos were shown, story telling, jokes, singing and prayer. Oh, yes, and food!

I didn't get a lot of good pictures. The lighting was bad and people were moving a lot, but for example, here is one of the jokes. So, Ed is in the center, and he is awarding boxes of pancake mix to the winners of the popular annual pancake-eating contest from that trip. Ed humbly admitted that he thought he had won with a total of 50 pancakes. But, no, Rick (on the left) ate 55, and Rudy (on the right) managed 48.

Many of the stories were more serious, heartwarming, or spiritual in nature. Lifelong friendships were formed on that trip for many of these guys. A few of the participants have died.

For the conclusion, Ed had brought a flag that actually flew over Arlington Cemetery. We all stood around it and sang "God Bless America." Then another of the guys closed in prayer.

There were a lot of damp eyes and hard-slapped shoulders and hugs.

And that's all for today. I'm still processing the event. There are a few of the families we've stayed in touch with (You may notice good friends Doug and Cathy in the picture, and bus-helper Wendy is the daughter of my good friend Betty), but some of the ones who came today we haven't seen for those 50 years.

See Another Trip in the Way-Back Machine