posted @ 14:08...

So, the election is over. It was weird to sit here at the Brigade the other day, and hear bits and pieces of conversations from people huddled around web-connected laptops: “Did he get Ohio? Good.” “Did he win Florida? Awesome.” "Wow, look at the spread on Idaho!"

Now… on to more important things: My wife and son made it to God’s Country the other day. What is “God’s Country?” you ask… Let’s just say that when you pray, you should first dial area code 406. All went well w/ their journey. My wife was concerned about flying, since the trip was on Election Day. Some folks believed that terrorists might try an attack in order to disrupt such a politically important day. However, I can’t imagine that flights from Texas to God’s Country (w/ layover in Minneapolis) would be a likely Jihad target. I was more concerned about how the air pressure would affect my son. I know my ears used to get plugged and hurt pretty bad in the airplane when I was a kid.

The rainy season has begun here in Iraq. Sure, it’s cool outside, which is nice… but walking through what was formerly dry sand causes sort of a rocky-road mixture of gravel and mud to cake itself to the bottoms of our boots. Each soldier has thereby added approximately one inch to his or her height.

There are tall concrete barriers that surround each tent and building. Their purpose is to protect against, or minimize the damage from, any incoming rockets or mortars that might find their way to our area. None have, and none probably will. But I realized a more useful purpose for these barriers: ya kick ‘em. Slamming the boot against the concrete just before entering a tent/building shakes loose a few of the pebbles. The mud is very annoying, and to be honest, I think I preferred the 100-degree weather. (Can you believe that?) At least I was getting used to the heat, and drinking plenty of water. Still drinking a lot of water, but now visits to the latrine are more frequent.