This morning I was awakened by the sounds of gun fire andvibrations of helicopters. There was aloud explosion, not so distant, I could tell by the violent shake of my CHU,(Containerized Housing Unit) ahhhh, another day in Iraq. By 10 am it will be 130 degrees and the windwill be lifting the dust into a haze. Idon’t seek pity for my circumstance, although my purpose for embarking on thisjourney no longer exists, my new goals have not yet been achieved. I thanked God for his grace and asked for Hisfavor throughout yet another day. Sobegan my day.
I got out of bed and began the morning ritual, making thebed, daily hygiene, and the search for sustenance. Arriving at work, I connected my phone and loggedinto the virtual world, that world far more attractive than the reality of Iraq. The internet has evolved much since the earlydays and I still marvel at the resources it affords. I can do research on topics, catch up oncurrent events, but most importantly, I can connect with other people surfingthe net in search of similar interests.There was an explosion after lunch time, some guy received ashrapnel wound to the upper thigh and was evacuated to hospital forsurgery. Tomorrow he will be sent to theUSfor further evaluation and recovery. Asexpected, the wind picked up after lunch as well. The wind here is like a huge hair dryer onthe highest setting blowing dust into the air. I say, “Iraqis like Hell, with all the Fun sucked out!” I’ll never see hell or Satan, but I’ve fought in the Middle East (Afghanistan and Iraq) and was once married to hissister.
I shall not linger on the working issues of the day, most areclassified and totally boring. Negotiating with tact and diplomacy as weapons was the challenge of theday, I’d much rather bitch slap some of the jokers to get my point across. Anyway, as the sun set this evening, the windcalmed and the chanting and songs from the mosques filled the now cooling air(temp had dropped into upper 90s). Iretired to my CHU, showered off the day’sdust, and finished up some slides for the morning brief. Then I chatted with Karen for about an hourbefore crawling into bed.
As climbed into bed, there was another explosion accompaniedby the sounds of gun fire and the familiar vibrations of helicopters overhead. The choppers were lower thistime….hunting I presume, with SF guys hanging out the sides in anticipation ofthe action. I thanked God again. So ended my day.