November 22, 2009
I am up, not because I am an early riser but because I can’t sleep and my body has no idea what time it is. I thought I had planned everything perfectly. I would go to sleep right after takeoff (which I did) sleep for seven or eight hours (which I did) and then be ready to go to sleep around midnight Kuwait time (which I did not). It was more like 3:15 a.m. when I finally shut out the lights.
Most of Saturday for me was effectively gone when I got onto the bus because of all the hoops we had to jump through upon arrival here. Fortunately Rick Kell (our host and main man at Troops First Foundation) is very thorough and he has us all taken care of (with some special help from his wonderful daughter Lindsey). Rick is a man who has a heart for the troops and their families and I am honored to now call him my friend. He has been over some 15 times so he had things worked out for us to move as quickly through all the paperwork as possible. The Troops First Foundation is an organization that has come to life from Rick’s early visions about helping troops and their families.
Of course, I was pretty happy because the first sign I saw upon arrival inside the terminal was the McDonald’s sign. God Bless America and Ray Kroc! Well, I passed on the opportunity but Tim Simpson made a beeline for the quarter pounder section. Both of them were gone in record time.
We then loaded into a van and headed out to our quarters for the night. One of the men assigned to us told me they were security detail. He said, “Did you ever see the movie Taken? We are what Liam Neeson was in the movie.” Well, I have to tell you, as much as he was trying to comfort me, he didn’t. He just made me remember that someone out there may actually want to inflict some harm. It was actually pretty cool watching our “tail” zig and zag out of traffic to make sure no one had plans to mess with us.
After an hour or so on the road we arrived at Camp Arifjan. It is a major support center for most of what happens in Iraq. Our quarters for the evening are very nice. Bobby and I are sharing a living area. We each have our own room and we share a bathroom. There is also a kitchen and fridge, which we will have little use for. We are told this is an area where the big dogs stay when they are here. It is really nice and after Pavlet led me to believe I would be walking two miles in pitch black to go to the latrine in the middle of the night, I am excited to have a bathroom nine feet away.
One thing I found interesting as we traveled out here to camp were all the tents set up in the desert. I asked about it and the guys told me the people from this area go and stay in the tents throughout the winter months. It is their way of keeping with their long tradition of living in the desert. If I explained it incorrectly, I apologize. All I know is, you can see bright lights, tents and fancy cars in every direction.
I now am officially loopy and it is time for bed. What day is it? I am more of a wimp than I ever imagined.
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