Virginia City, Nevada - The hills fall away in layers from this place and the rising sun dries the mists in the valley pockets. Sage brush and ridges to the endless horizon. This is our last stop before we head home. It's hard to leave. Instead of heading home, it feels like leaving home.
We came together as strangers; now we leave as friends and family. We have spent hours travelling over hot, dusty trails; scrambled over walls of stones; and enjoyed the shade under sun-baked pine. When the way was rugged, we offered our hands. When spirits sagged, we lifted one another. We have wept over shared sorrows and roared with laughter at each others joys. We have told our stories. AND we have listened to our stories. Together, we honored the sprits that brought us together. It truly has been a historic journey.
Now, we are disbanding, spreading out to homes in Washington, or California, or DC and points between. We say it's heading home. But, in some way, I think we have been "home" this entire week. If home is the place where you are comfortable, where you are understood and valued, if home is a place where you have a sense of belonging, then we have found that our "home" is much larger than we had ever thought. We have been home all along.
for more about the Chinese Heritage Tour of the American West go to www.db.wingluke.org/tourblog/
