Soldier's Angels

Here is a wonderful website I highly recommend if you are interested in supporting our troops. How can you not love a site whose motto is "May No Soldier Go Unloved"? Thanks!

The Saddest Thing

I was reading Iraqi blogs today and I came upon the saddest entry. How can Americans possibly understand the utter hopelessness that is manifest in Iraq at this time? Is the only answer to allow the equilibrium of a civil war to take place? (It is certainly not as if we are able to stop it.) Would those who are left be able to finally live in peace? Here is the saddest exerpt:

I cannot imagine a father or mother hating their children. But in our miserable existence, we come very close to that.

An average parent in present-day ‘free Iraq’ spends a good portion of the day and night worrying to
death over his or her children going to school, going out with their friends,
being a shade late in coming home or strolling to the neighborhood shop to buy
crisps and coke. Their resentment of restrictions over their comings and goings
is a constant, never-ending source of friction and battles. Their agony in their
sleep soaking wet in their sweat during the long power cuts in the
mercilessly hot summer nights of Baghdad is a dull pain of helplessness and
fury in the heart.

Most of the time you are sick with worry over
their safety and well-being. The knowledge that they are in constant danger
consumes you. It eats you alive.

You then realize that it is your love
for them that is killing you. You begin to hate that love.

Pathetic Display

This is an amazing story - an AWOL (really a deserter) soldier spends a year in Canada, comes back in to turn himself in because Canada won't give him sanctuary, then goes AWOL again because the Army wanted to put him to work, then didn't want to talk to his lawyer. This is shocking behavior by our Army. How dare our Army refuse to mollycoddle this "person." I think he should go to Iraq and be forced to clean all the latrine containers with a toothbrush. Anyway ...

Nancy's Bayonet

If you ever wanted to know how to properly use an AK-47 bayonet, check out Nancy's demonstration here. She sent me one too - it makes a nice letter opener! If she ever gets to DC again we're painting the town :)

Two Things

Maybe I am just losing my patience - two things happened today to me that really were irritating. First, I tried to buy CVS brand Sudafed today and had to give my licence, my name and address and sign for the 24 Sudafed pills I bought. Such crap! I lose my rights so pathetic meth addicts have a slight speed bump on the way to their next high while Osama Bin Laden can walk on a plane as long as he has solid C-4 that he can't wash his hair with or less than three ounces of nitro glycerine. BTW - I get on my plane without having to sign anything and my passport gets barely a glance at BWI. WTF???

Second - I apparently made the mistake of wearing my US Embassy - Baghdad jacket today because it was freaking cold here. I go to Big Lots after getting my hair butchered (oh yeah, three things!) to pick up some useless trinkets and the neanderthal chick at the register asks me if I knew someone "over there." I said that I was "over there" and she said "oh" and gave me a look that said to me that I was the biggest piece of dog shit she had ever seen in her life. I just grabbed my useless trinkets and left her to her useless freaking life.

Giving Thanks

Here's another Thanksgiving story that you may enjoy. Things to be thankful for. Although I am thankful I am home with my family and not in Baghdad for Thanksgivig like I was last year, I am sad that Iraq is such a horrendous mess. When we got there in November 2005, it seemed that we might be able to make a difference.

Thanksgiving Joys

Read this great article from the Boston Globe about Thanksgiving. It's a hoot! Last Thanksgiving I was in Iraq - This year I get to make my Sweet Potato Pie! Yum Yum :)

Michaela's Early Christmas Present

Michaela wanted her own digital camera for Christmas and because she is a teenager, she bugged me incessantly until I caved in and bought her a camera and printer! Yes, I am fabulous. Oh yeah - LOL so is Michaela!! =]

Flying Man

Flying Man

Read Nancy's story about the suicide bombings at the Flying Man gate right outside of Camp Victory. The day before that incident, I was sitting in that parking lot waiting to meet one of my Iraqi counterparts. Unfortunately, because the US and Iraqi troops moved the checkpoint, he decided to meet me at another location instead of our usual spot. So I am sitting there waiting for him in my sniper-friendly Camp Victory SUV getting more and more restless wondering where the hell he was. So I finally get him on the cell phone and he says that the check point has been moved and he is by what I thought he said were"date trees." So I look to the left and right and I see a grove of date palms about 200 meters east. So, I take a left out of the parking lot onto ... oh yeah, did I tell you that this parking lot is on Route Irish? ... Route Irish heading toward the "date trees" and downtown Baghdad. I keep looking for his truck until he tells me "no!! dead trees! Closer to the base!" At this point I am driving toward Baghdad proper on a very dangerous stretch of highway and I can't find a spot to turn around. When we went out of the gate for this reason, we did not wear our body armor or kevlar helmets because, ironically, one is a much richer target and in more danger with it on. I finally ended up driving through a grove of trees to get to the other side of the road because the side I was on started curving away from the other side - eeeekk. Anyway, luckily all the Iraqis drive like bats out of hell, so me hitting 90 on the way back to the base looked normal! I finally found the "dead trees" and my Iraqi friend. That was more adrenaline than I wanted to chug.

Saddam's Throne

Hi Folks - This is a picture that Nancy took of me the day before I left Baghdad. I found it and thought I'd share. This is in Al Faw Palace and everyone there has to have a picture taken in the throne! More later ...

The Sandbox

Check out this website - http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/ It is a GWOT blog that is sponsored by Slate Magazine and Doonesbury author Garry Trudeau. It is pretty interesting. Doonesbury has been very supportive of Soldiers and was recently at the Pentagon signing his new book. Sweet!

My Space Too!

I have a Myspace site too. I only have this one because I use it to talk to my daughter. :)

http://www.myspace.com/101211847

New Blog Site

I started getting a little tired of the Yahoo Blog site, so I am going to try this for a bit. I hope it allows me to give my readers a little more functionality. http://360.yahoo.com/reenie61b Here's the link to my Baghdad Blog from Yahoo. I am hoping that I can transfer the content from that one to here. Thanks!