With just a few more minutes needed to complete another lap, I enter the final curve of the track, eyes fixed on the barracks. I've left behind views of the forest and the mountains; vistas of the Pacific Ocean have once more come into view but that's not where my attention is focused. It's on the older but well maintained buildings tucked into the forest across the street.
Known to locals as the Timberlane Barracks, hundreds if not thousands of young people have completed their Army, Navy or Air Force cadet training here. Over those same years brand new recruits have brushed shoulders with veterans who have paid the price of defending our freedom; civilian instructors have contributed their knowledge and experience alongside those who have given their best to preserve our right to choose who will determine our country's future. Tears are not uncommon as I round this stretch of asphalt.
In this last Tracking my Thanks note of gratitude, I am reminded not only of our military but also of those who guard and protect us closer to home. This week our community is experiencing a rare event - the discovery of a body and the presence of police and a taped-off crime scene. I feel new depths of appreciation for those men and women who help make this sort of thing a rarity.
Then there is our fire department and its rapid response to incidents requiring their expertise. Be it an accident, a community event or an actual fire, they are there and their presence is reassuring.
Not to be forgotten is our strong contingent of Search and Rescue volunteers, a special group of men and women who have committed themselves to put the needs of lost or stranded individuals ahead of their own plans.
I start another lap, spurred on by thanksgiving.
