Praying

I wanted to paint you a picture of my last few hours in the US. I hope that after you read about this experience you are as struck as I was at what a great country this is and why we must, at all costs protect our fragile way of life.

On my way to the gate to board my plane I passed the chapel. I figured I ought to stop in and say a few words, ask a few favors of God. Besides I could spend some time looking up the bible passage that describes why Moses did not get to enter the promised land (a story about why that came up will have to wait). So there I sit, non demonitional chapel, bible opened to the old testament in my lap. Keep in mind this is no cathedral, the whole room might be 8' x 10' and it has chairs and an alter in it.

So as I sit in walks this guy, an airport worker. I'm in the 2d row of chairs. He takes off his shoes and walks up to the front past me and rolls out the prayer rug kept there. I ask him if he'd like me to leave. He shakes his head: "no, no. of course not" a little broken, very accented but clear enough. He had no problem me being there reading the Christian bible, clearly on my lap.

At this point we are about 3 feet from one another. He begins his ritual of praying toward Mecca. I keep reading. A few minutes goes by, in walks another guy. This fellow kneels down in another row, again about 3 feet from me. So we all three are within about 6 feet of one another. This guy starts praying, clearly in a Christian manner. So here we are; a Muslim, a Catholic reading the Jewish portion of the bible , and a Protestant of some sort clearly praying to a Christ. Then the most amazing thing happened.........nothing. No bomb, no IED, no protest, nothing. The guy behind me got up and left when he was done. The Muslim finished up, rolled the rug and nodded as he went by. I said "Have a good day." He replied "Yes. You too. Good Day."

How about that. An American Soldier, in uniform, on his way to Iraq, reading about Moses, while a Christian and a Muslim pray within arms reach. If that does not just hit you right in the head with this is the greatest country ever, than nothing ever will. Yeah we eat to much McDonald's. We invented Baseball and Nuclear weapons. But we also have shit like this happen a thousand times a day all over the country. And that folks is why I am going down to Gate E-38 and going to battle against those that would rather the three of us turned that Chapel into a boxing ring.

Finally Flying

A mere 4 weeks after I reported to Ft McPherson I am now in the last few hours before I fly out. My four duffle bags are checked in, I have my boarding pass. I am hanging around the USO waiting to board my flight. I have to give the USO the recognition they are due. Most of you know the USO as the organization that sends performers to war zones. Most famous of those performers is probably Bob Hope. More recently the WWE wrestlers and musicians like Toby Kieth are on the bill. What many of you probably don't know is that the USO operates "canteens" in several major US Airports. The one here in Atlanta is remarkable. I have been in several, and they are all to be commended for the work they do. The one here is definitely a top 1% kinda place.

Let me first say that the canteen is nothing without it's volunteers. The folks that man these operations are themselves usually veterans, though not always. These folks meet and direct servicemen and women, make the sandwiches, clean up, and basically do everything else necessary to keep up the place. The USO in Atlanta for example serves coffee, tea, sandwiches, cookies, cakes, etc. They have a large sort of "living room" complete with TV's, magazines, books, etc. A small children's area to accommodate families moving from duty station to duty station. They have a quiet room with some recliners and a couch with paperbacks in and other reading material. This USO also supports a free WiFi connection and three PC's. The place is nicely appointed, carpeted throughout and just generally pretty nice. The volunteers do all of it.

I mention all this in an effort to get the USO the help they need to keep doing this work. The organization relies heavily on donations. I don't know the breakdown or if any of the admin staff gets paid. What I do know is for the BILLIONS of Soldier's, Sailor's, Airmen, and Marines and many of their families the USO has been an Oasis, a haven, a much needed distraction. So I would ask you to send them a buck or two. If you were gonna send me some candy or a card, I'd ask you to send the money instead to the USO. They do great work!

ummmmm, eerrr. ahhhhhh. Just a second, my collapsible soap-box is stuck........ there we go packed away. For know.

So anyhow, I am getting ready to go. Emily and I had a great week together here in "the ATL", but it is time to focus. Get my game face on. I'll be honest, I'm nervous. I worry. What I am not is unsure. I have no doubt that I need to go do this. I have no doubt in my ability or the ability of those around me. I believe I am a member of the best trained, best equipped, military in the world. So what the heck will I be doing you ask? Well that will have to wait for the next post, because I am not really sure. I was supposed to be going to do one thing, but apparently either I am to good or to bad for that job. So I might be going to do something related or something way different. No matter. I am an American Soldier. I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight. You'll probably here that a lot from me over the next year.