June 10-12

—Cowtown—

Fort Worth was one of the biggest highlights of the trip so far. Some of my best memories and longtime friends are in the D/FW area. It was like coming home, but yet it has grown and changed. Jax and I took a rest day there and got a whirlwind tour of the revitalized neighborhoods, riverside development and downtown improvements, courtesy of my friend, JB. What a great city! I loved it almost 30 years ago and it’s even better now. The night before we left, our friends surprised us with a fundraising get-together at HopFusion Ale Works! We had a fantastic time, caught up with old friends, met many new ones and left that place with a literal bucketful of cash for K9s For Warriors. I was and still am stunned by that outpouring of generosity. If the good folks at K9s For Warriors and the warriors themselves could see how many people appreciate and support them, they’d probably be stunned too. The Instagram post below has two videos — the first has some shots from just before we reached Fort Worth and the second shows some of the people and places we saw while we were there.

—Brain Freeze—

The ride to Hillsboro was graced with a tailwind and very little traffic. The only hiccup on the ride was when Jax flipped his trailer on its back, which had catastrophic consequences the next day, but seemed minor at the time. At 25 miles, we stopped at a Whataburger in Cleburne to get a chocolate milkshake for me and some cool water for Jax. It was hot outside, so I found some shade and sat on a curb while Jax sprawled out on the concrete. In that little patch of shade at the edge of a busy parking lot, I drank my milkshake too fast and paid the price — the dreaded Brain Freeze. Seems I’ll never learn. 

Seeing my pained expression, fingers touching my bowed head, bike/trailer contraption laid out on the pavement next to a sprawling, panting dog, a woman stopped her car and rolled her window down. “Excuse me, but do you need help? Are y’all okay? Are you in trouble?” What? No. No thank you. “Are you sure? You both look like you’re having some problems.” Embarrassed, I had to explain that my problem was just Brain Freeze. ”What?” Brain Freeze. I drank my milkshake too fast. “Oh. Well what are you doing out here?” I can’t bring my dog into the restaurant. “But what are you doing?” 

So we talked about my ride for K9s For Warriors, their mission to help our veterans return to civilian life with dignity and independence, and how they save dogs from abandonment or euthanasia to give them a new life filled with love and purpose. Her name was Martha. She’s active in finding new homes for dogs that need them, she loves our military service men and women, and she loved K9s For Warriors’ “save a dog, save a warrior“ strategy. As Jax and I rolled out of Cleburne, I reflected on that chance meeting. Had we really been in trouble, Martha would have done her best to help us out. And I never would’ve known it if I hadn’t drank my milkshake too fast.