If You Prick Them They Will Bleed; If You Tickle Them They WILL Laugh

There is Pain: Who is older? The man or the boy? Cover their faces and look only at their eyes. It's difficult to tell. The boy was born into war and it is all he's ever known. The man is old enough at least to remember a time of peace. I'm not sure which is more difficult.

There is Laughter: The children who come close to the entry gate (top) LOVE to have their picture taken - but only so that they can SEE the pictures of themselves! Much like my baby nieces and nephews (heck, much like ME) in St. Louis, the kids barely stand still and smile long enough for me to press the button before they blitz me with demands to show them their smiling, inquisitive selves. And, inevitably, they giggle at what they see. Which makes me giggle at what I see.

This is Life.

The Magic Number: 450

Sensory memory is a great thing. After spending approximately 150 nights in my B-hut (wooden tent-building thing) and making a minimum of 3 trips, from that location, per pre-bed / mid-night / wake-up to use the "facilities" it finally happened:

I can make the trip there and back with my eyes mostly closed.

There are a variety of reasons why I might wish to make the trip without seeing the scenery along the way, but the most beneficial among them is that I made the trip mid-night without really waking up and, thus, was able to get back to sleep within seconds of getting back to my bed.

No small feat, I assure you.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night, going out your front door, walking to the end of your block, using the neighbor's bathroom then making the return trip to your bed. Seeeeeeeeee. Being able to make the trip without waking up all the way suddenly becomes a very handy-dandy skill to have, doesn't it?

The result of being well-rested: two blogs in three days!

Home: Where I Didn't Hang my Hat

"Where's the Hat?!"

I recently returned to St. Louis for two weeks of rest and relaxation after spending 6 months in the Afghanistan desert and mountains and do you think people wanted to know about burkas or taliban or poppy fields? No, sir. They wanted to see the hat!

Nineteen carefree, hat-free days (they WANT me to wear the one on the left; I WEAR the one on the right) I spent away from my military base in Afghanistan. The answer is "yes, it was all that and then some." But I'm back on base - safe and sound - and what a homecoming it was. They had a bunker party to celebrate my return :-) Awww, fellas, you shouldn't have.

I had a great visit home - of course I did. I got hugs, I saw friends' smiling faces, I was gifted many bottles of wine! I got sumo-wrestler body slammed - in a good way :-), I beat my nephews and little brother (fair and square!) in a cannonball contest in mom's pool, I had "obnoxiously early jet-lag coffee" with my peeps (be grateful you don't live in the same house with me), I hugged my mom and sisters so much i left an imprint on them, I made everyone pose for so many pictures they actually couldn't wait for me to leave town again!

I didn't get to spend enough time with everyone. So e-mail me. And write me letters. And help me make up for missed time.

Welcome back.