Bringing It to an End
Day Eight: A Colorful Ending
It felt as though the weekend was over, but there was one more event that we looked forward to very much on Sunday-the Parade of the Flags. They represented a total of 139 countries where Peace Corps has served. We marched from Arlington Cemetery (near President Kennedy’s gravesite) across the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial. It was estimated that there were approximately 6,000 participants. Before we reported to the staging area, we four had breakfast together. Cell phones are a godsend in locating one another after such a mass activity. That evening Mark grilled steaks at home.
We managed to find my long-time best friend, my college roommate Ronnie and his wife Maggie. In alphabetical order by country, they were first. Ronnie was in Afghanistan from 1965-1968 and has lived on an organic farm in New Hampshire for many years. We looked for Bob (Thailand), who used to live in Dallas, and his partner Larry there from Lynchburg, VA, but did not find them. I also learned another interesting fact. Except for the Philippines, Ecuador has received more PCV’s than any other country
Days Nine and Ten: Going Home
Ronnie (Afghanistan, 1965-68) and I (Ecuador, 1964-66) were roommates for two years at Baylor and have remained best friends all of these years. I can't think of two men I'd rather be standing between than him and Charlie.
This time we were very tired and more than a little bit sick. We’d gotten flu shots two days before leaving on the trip and wonder if it may have been a factor. We went the original planned route on the way home, going from the northeast corner of Virginia to the southwest to Charlottesville to change buses and then continuing through Tennessee to such cities as Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and on into Arkansas and Little Rock, and Texarkana. We were exhausted but happy and fulfilled and glad to be back in our home and bed once again. It took us about thirty-three hours.
It felt as though the weekend was over, but there was one more event that we looked forward to very much on Sunday-the Parade of the Flags. They represented a total of 139 countries where Peace Corps has served. We marched from Arlington Cemetery (near President Kennedy’s gravesite) across the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial. It was estimated that there were approximately 6,000 participants. Before we reported to the staging area, we four had breakfast together. Cell phones are a godsend in locating one another after such a mass activity. That evening Mark grilled steaks at home.
We managed to find my long-time best friend, my college roommate Ronnie and his wife Maggie. In alphabetical order by country, they were first. Ronnie was in Afghanistan from 1965-1968 and has lived on an organic farm in New Hampshire for many years. We looked for Bob (Thailand), who used to live in Dallas, and his partner Larry there from Lynchburg, VA, but did not find them. I also learned another interesting fact. Except for the Philippines, Ecuador has received more PCV’s than any other country
Days Nine and Ten: Going Home
Ronnie (Afghanistan, 1965-68) and I (Ecuador, 1964-66) were roommates for two years at Baylor and have remained best friends all of these years. I can't think of two men I'd rather be standing between than him and Charlie.
This time we were very tired and more than a little bit sick. We’d gotten flu shots two days before leaving on the trip and wonder if it may have been a factor. We went the original planned route on the way home, going from the northeast corner of Virginia to the southwest to Charlottesville to change buses and then continuing through Tennessee to such cities as Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and on into Arkansas and Little Rock, and Texarkana. We were exhausted but happy and fulfilled and glad to be back in our home and bed once again. It took us about thirty-three hours.