SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Welcome to the Bull Gap Journal as a recurring feature of SylacaugaNews.com. The features will offer refreshed, on-line journal posts from several years ago, as well as new articles. Sometimes, there may be a lyric or two that would sure fit a good country song!
The Bull Gap is a rugged area in the Talladega National Forest. As early as the 1890’s, government surveyors called it the Bull Gap Saddle between Rebecca Mountain and Horn Mountain. As a Sylacauga native, Bull Gap has been a pleasant escape for me. First in my youth, then visits back home, and now fully back home, it’s the setting for reflecting about life and folks along the way..
The Bull Gap hosts beautiful ridge lines, step climbs, hollers, and winding creeks. It’s a forest backdrop to think about the personal journey through life.
With over thirty years in the military, it was an honor to serve with remarkable American patriots. Just like the Bull Gap, we had ups, downs, twists, and turns. We celebrated success, learned from mistakes, and shared loss. There was courage, humility, sacrifice, loyalty, kindness and pain…and superhuman heroes along the way.
The Bull Gap Journal is a place to reflect. It isn’t a leadership textbook. It isn’t a political column, nor intended to tell anybody how to live their life.
My hope for the journal is simple. A resting spot to stop and think. Maybe it will remind you of somebody who made a difference in your life. Maybe it’ll make you smile. Maybe it’ll stir an old memory or give you a different way of looking at something. It’s more like sitting on the porch with an old friend and talking about things that matter.
Your friend and neighbor,
Bob
Robert “Bob” Holmes, a native of Sylacauga, has over four decades of experience leading at all levels from small teams to large complex organizations. He is a career Air Force Special Operations Special Tactics Officer, a Veteran, and retired Brigadier General.
