My uncle was in
Vietnam. There was a story he’d always tell me about how he got out. They had been in the
forest for weeks when the orders came for him to leave. They had to leave because
the enemy was advancing in their direction. There were no tanks or trucks or boats. They had to walk the 40 some miles out.
My uncle decided to
run. He knew that they had trucks but
if he could keep in the lead he might get back to the boat in time. He ran through the night
never stopping.
My uncle always told me “running was easy, I never knew it could be that easy.
I just kept going.. but I did make one mistake.” My uncle's mistake was sitting down when he reached the boat. as soon as he rested his legs
cramped up and he couldn’t even stand. All the damage that had built up over
days of running surfaced. Some kids carried him into the boat and after a few days he was back in order.
My uncle loves to run
cross country to this day. Five years ago he was timed as
the fastest 40 year old man in the world (there is a 50-something guy who is faster than him but he was the fastest at 40)
I guess he has
something to run for.