DONSA

Every month, Fort Campbell has established a 4 day weekend, also known as Days Of No Scheduled Activity. Because of the federal discretionary holiday of MLK day, I have enjoyed a long weekend of no work. It started out with a 14 mile hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my best friend, Freight train (not his real name, just a term of endearment). Aside from the one other person we came across, I firmly believe we were the only two people in the whole Cades Cove area, mainly because the temperature was in the single digits! Train and I made it through the day with little to no trouble despite the cold, although the hose on my Camelbak was frozen for the first half of the trip!
Saturday was a day of rest and relaxation for the wife and I, while yesterday was consumed by a trip to Nashville to see a good friend get baptized in the morning and some window shopping the afternoon. Les and I were able to satisfy our slight crab addiction with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Good stuff!
Today is yet another day of R&R, with a few miscellaneous errands scheduled; however, I cannot help but be consumed with the media coverage of the life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. While some view this holiday as just another day off from work, others honor this human catalyst for racial change in America. Furthermore, tomorrow we will bear witness to this man's legacy by the swearing in of our country's first black President. I pray we never stray from honoring, not on MLK's birthday, but also the dream he shared with this great nation.
By the way, please don't look upon our "luxurious" monthly 4 day weekends as an advantage to being the military, as we are almost guaranteed to work at least one weekend a month too!
Take care and may God continue to bless the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.