Thinking Out Loud, Volume DXVIII

If a hill has a name, respect that hill. I encountered such a hill recently on Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, Alabama. Its name is Heartbreak Hill, and it is encountered at about the 2.5 mile mark of a big 10K race they have every year in Huntsville. When I had to climb it, I was just out for an early morning walk with my son in law, but let me tell you, getting up that hill had my heart beating out of my chest, and my breathing sounded like a horse that had just finished The Preakness. The pavement on that street has deep grooves designed to help cars get enough traction to keep them from sliding down. It was a tough hill, I tell you. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely not!! Well, maybe there's just one part about it I've enjoyed.....telling people about it, which I couldn't do had I not first experienced it. Back in late spring and early summer of 1986, my dad was down to his last few weeks of life. He knew it, and I knew it. Dad was a WWII veteran, and I was aware of the fact that he saw a lot of action during his days in the war, but I had heard none of the stories of his experiences. One day during that period of his final days, I was visiting him, and we were the only ones there, so I asked him to fill me in on some of the details of what he saw and experienced in Europe and Northern Africa. As he began to talk, my mouth was open in horror as it began to sink in just what all my own dad had witnessed. Then it dawned on me just why he had never spoken to us of these events that were still so vivid in his mind. Today, however, I'm so glad I asked about it and for the fact that he shared it with me. It's a part of my heritage and it would've been a shame if I had gone through my entire life without knowing the stories. Ladies and gentlemen, every one of us has experienced very trying, unpleasant circumstances; some of which were just hard trials, like Heartbreak Hill, while others, such as my dad's war experiences, may have left deep scars. While we were going through those difficult trials and tribulations, we may have even talked to others who had experienced almost identical situations in their lives, and it was good for us to know that we had friends who knew what we were dealing with. That was only possible because someone was willing to share what they had been through, even though it may have been painful to bring it up. Trust me, no matter how horrific your experiences may have been, there are others who either have gone through the same thing before, or may even be going through it now. People you don't even suspect. I'm not suggesting that we should broadcast the details of those events to the world, I'm just saying we should not withhold that information from those who would benefit from hearing our stories. There have been times while writing this blog when I've cringed as I relayed events of my life that previously I thought no one else would ever know about, and trust me, it wasn't done simply as an effort to air my dirty laundry; it's just that I knew there were others who could identify with my stories, if only for the comfort of knowing they weren't alone in their struggles. We all have stories, and as hard as it may seem, there are those out there who need to hear them. Preston