Hey Everyone....I hope you had a fantastic week.
Okay, I promise, this will be the last week I talk about the sewer (unless there is some spectacular development - like a catastrophic failure).... but for now, the sewer system is installed and working (WHOO-HOO!). As stated, the local Iraqis worked very hard on this. On the 'last day' they brought in "reggi"
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(I am guessing on the spelling) or "water-melon" as we know it - see photo #1770 to see the guys celebrating. And I got some Iraqi flat bread (BTW, I LOVE Iraqi flatbread.... I have had falafels and "iraqi burgers" and they are re-he-heally good).
So... how do I tell the camp - and all of these soldiers who have been working here so hard - that the sewer system is FINALLY up and running? Well, here is how I imagined it.....in my mind:
The dusty, handsome, cowboy (me....in case the "handsome" confused you...) walks into the DFAC, where approximately 100 weary, war-torn soldiers are standing.... looking haggard and tired. The cowboy strides in - his dark shades hide his eyes - he slowly takes off his (very cool) hat - takes off his shades and glares at every one of the soldiers - briefly meeting each of their gazes and calmly but intently says... "You can all go potty now.... (more intensely).... the sewer system is working... you can (working up to a scream....) NOW flush the 'toy-toy'.... THE POTTIES ARE FIXED!!!). All of the soldiers immediately jump up, cheer, and yell with delight. A banner gets unfurled that says "NO MORE LETTING IT MELLOW IF IT'S YELLOW" - A helicopter lands and the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders come out and immediately come over and hug the exhausted cowboy, lift him up and carry him around the DFAC. The Ohio State marching band miraculously appears out of the sand - and instead of forming into the famous "Script Ohio" they immediately form into a script "Mr. Wide" with Jack Nicklaus dotting the I.....
..........Yep ....that's how it went in my mind.
Okay, here is what happened..... but, ...before I tell you that - let me explain a tiny bit about the DFAC. The DFAC here is not like it is in Baghdad - it is a small buffet line, where you start at one end - and pick up paper plates and plasticware - and then head towards the food. So, every day (and I mean EVERY DAY) the buffet line starts like this. Chicken (baked or fried), the next pan is ALWAYS white rice. The pan after that is ALWAYS 'mystery meat sauce' (or just 'mystery sauce' - but there is usually some type of meat(?) in there) and you are supposed to put that 'mystery sauce' on the rice. After that, there are various fried foods, or fruits, etc. Any rate, sometimes the mystery sauce is grey, sometimes it is red, and sometimes it is brown. Sometimes it is even edible. Many times, we wonder if the cooks are actually Al-Qaeda and they are secretly trying to poison us.
After you get your food, you sit down at one of the tables and eat. Then as you leave, you throw the trash and/or leftovers away. Most of the time, in that order - sometimes, it is more humane to just throw the food directly in the trash versus eating it ....but I digress. Okay, so after that explanation of the DFAC, here is what happened....
I was really excited (as only a "facility guy" can be) about getting the sewer working. So I burst in the door of the DFAC - and there are about 20 guys sitting around. I am so excited that my brain is working faster than my mouth.... so I walk further into the room, hold my hands over my head..... everyone looks up at me....I blurt out, "WE HAVE SEWAGE!".......
and the response.....
dead silence..... crickets chirping..... awkward silence.
finally after a few seconds of that, someone says, "So THAT explains today's mystery sauce!" Sigh....
Speaking of inedible food, the one thing that the DFAC guys do that really scares me is their "leftover salad"....you see, we have a limited supply of food and so the guys try and be creative as to how they.... um... "repackage" the food for us. So it is not unusual to see last night's chicken and last night's potatoes mixed together in some type of "sauce"...but OCCASIONALLY - they really go a little whacky. The other day, they had peas, carrots, cheese, and fruit cocktail mixed in a mayo sauce - with apples lining the perimeter.... it really looked quite colorful. I was scared to taste it. We occasionally play "DFAC Roulette" where we challenge each other to see who can eat the most of one of these creations. Trust me, there is never a winner.
A couple of people (through cards and email) have asked about my "Easter" - well, I basically worked 13 hours that day - but, I did take about a half hour for a Bible study with one of the Chiefs (as in Chief Petty Officer - not as in "Kansas City") - he had a nice little devotion about resurrection - within ourselves. And how we should embrace the past - but not let it hinder our future. I have many non-Christian friends - and I think they would have agreed with this as well....but it was a nice "time away" ...I also got mail on Easter Sunday.... which was real nice. Thanks again to those who sent me cards and magazines - and if you did send me something, you should have received an email from me.
Also, this week, I got to go back out to visit the Iraqi Marines. I wrote you about them previously, this is the Iraqi group who basically had to move into a garbage dump - and the USMC has been helping them out. Well, I am working on some plans for them (and asking for funding) to upgrade their "crib". Any rate, on the way, we drove by a place where a convoy was hit by an IED not long ago. (FYI -no one was hurt and in case you didn't hear, "mookie" is back in the area trying to cause trouble....it's in all the papers...) So the Marines were a little tense (I was too) as we were driving around the area. Trust me, your head is on a swivel in those situations.
It was really busy traffic wise - and if you have never driven down an Iraqi street - just think about this. You are driving along in a war zone - and all of a sudden - a little beatup truck comes zooming at you from a side street. He doesn't stop, he is looking right at you and speeding up....what do you do? Quick...you have two seconds....WHAT do you DO? (I know what I did-.... but getting into a fetal position and crying like a 12-year old girl shouldn't be an option for this exercise....). Obviously, there is no "right" answer. This time, it was just some local yokel wanting to get somewhere else. But, it is scary driving around out here. There is all of this traffic zooming along - people driving crazy, talking on cell phones, not paying attention (actually, this is sounding like your typical American city)...but it is a LOT scarier - everything is dirty, the cars driving around are all banged up, the roads are terrible, there are a ton of people walking around and there is junk (potential IEDs??) EVERYWHERE....
So OUR Marines (yours and mine) are driving along - and you know what they are most concerned about? A little girl who was running towards our group hoping to get some candy (we had none) and she was darting out into traffic. Those young men - who are battle-tested and hard as nails - did what they had to do to protect that young girl from oncoming traffic. I will tell you that the Marines - some aren't old enough to be that girl's dad.... were communicating all along the group of vehicles to ensure that everyone knew what was going on and manuevered their vehicles to keep that little girl safe from a couple of crazy drivers. You know what these guys did? They put their concern for that little girl ahead of themselves. (They were still looking out for the bad guys - they did NOT let their guard down, but their 'natural' instinct kicked in) and they immediately went to protect her - and probably saved her life.
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I don't have a photo of the girl - I could only hear the guys shouting and see what they did (I was strapped up good on the other side of the vehicle) - but I went thru my pix after I got back to the office and found a photo of the area - the reason I remember the photo is right before they saw the girl, we were talking about the guy "selling" gas on the streets (look at the corner of photo #1878 - you can see some gas cans....that is the Iraqi version of a gas station). When they got back to camp - no one said a word about the little girl (well, there was one or two "choice" words about the parents - but that shouldn't count against the Marines) - but they just went on about their business.... as usual... no big deal. Another day for a US Marine.
I wonder how many more (thousands?) of stories that these guys - and other soldiers/sailors could tell just like this? How many times do we NOT hear about the guys going out of their way to help others? How come we are so quick to print stories about idiotic behavior or stupid mistakes or tragic accidents (trust me, they all happen - way too much over here)....but we NEVER hear about the humane side? I am not saying don't report that other stuff.... but, there is SO MUCH good stuff that these guys are accomplishing over here.....and when I hold up my hands and blurt out, "WHY ISNT THIS BEING REPORTED???" What is the response???
dead silence..... crickets chirping..... awkward silence....
Sigh....
I was going to include a couple of photos of the guys. I had really nice photos of the driver and the gunner. I sent them copies to send home. The guys are both in their early to mid 20's and they are both GREAT guys. But to single them out would not be right - as to me, they represent the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of US servicemen and women who have been here, or who are over here now, or who will be here long after I have gone.... doing their job...... quietly "helping others escape from the crazy people".... and professionally doing their jobs.... and without complaint. I have one word to say....
WOW
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| #1850 |
So instead of a photo of the US Marines, I thought I would give you a "taste" (probably a bad choice of words) of what I am facing with the Iraqi Marines... Photo #1850: what this photo is - it is of their kitchen, their shower, and their outhouse all lined up next to each other. The kitchen and the shower both have open drains - that go right out front. The outhouse has "a hole" that will need to be filled in eventually. But they see nothing wrong with this. The guys walking from the kitchen to the eating place have to walk right through the open grey water. The photo is taken from far enough back that you can't see anything yucky... but you can see the challenge I face in trying to get them to spend money and energy in cleaning up the place..... they don't understand.... "But, Mr. Wide - it just dries up and goes away - no problem!"
Sigh.....
Okay.... once again, my email time is up.....sheesh! Each Saturday, I worry - am I going to have something to share by next Friday? What if it is just another "boring" week in Iraq?? How many more stories can I tell about my HAT?!? But then, by the end of the week, something has caught my funny bone - or has struck me as just flat-out cool. Thank you, all who wrote and thank you, all for sharing my adventure. You know I am going to end this like I end every other email... so say it with me if you want....
God Bless America
Wade "Mr. Wide" Brower
مهندس واد بروير
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