To Whom It May Concern

And The White Line's Getting Longer, And This Saddle's Getting Cold

So, I think I have been at the place we are deployed to for a total of about 3 days this year thus far, other than that we are continually on the road, picking up everything from junk to concrete barriers to HUMVEEs. I don't think there has ever been another time in my life where I have so completely lost track of what day it is or even what TIME of the day it is, other than if the sun is out or not.

I have fielded a variety of questions about one particular thing lately in my email and from other people I know, basically revolving around "How are you able to do what you guys do, I would be so scared!!!" Well, I suppose you could dwell on that, but honestly, you have the risk of wrecking your car every time you go out the door and get inside to go for a drive to the grocery store, but do you think about it all the time? No. On my first convoy I was scared shitless, I was staring at the road all day, then that night I was still staring into the ditches, at every bump alongside the road, in every crater, pothole, up at ever overpass, until I was about losing my mind.

The next day I revamped my thoughts about that, what good does it do? There is so much junk alongside the roads here that you really can't keep track of what is or is not a bomb or just random shit laying out there, so to stare at every pile of junk, dirt clod, etc, while flying down the road, is pointless. Honestly, most of the people being killed by roadside bombs these days are those people who get out of their vehicles and do stupid shit and stand on the shoulder without checking to see if there is anything suspicious out there. I try to not even get out of my truck.

The other nice thing is that our semi trucks sit high off the ground and are very well armored. If you wear all of your armor in combination with that, you are well protected. I just want everyone to know that things, while dangerous at times, are not something to dwell on constantly, or it will drive you bonkers.

Now, about other things. Baghdad is interesting. We drove thru it late at night, and talk about crazy, the area we went through was cluttered on either side with a plethora of roadside stands, junk EVERYWHERE, and 5 story buildings on both sides. It's eerie because in a city of 6 million or so, there was NOTHING going on, for good reason I am sure, at night is when the insurgency is at it's most active, so a lot of the Iraqi people try to avoid these murdering foreigners who call themselves 'freedom fighters' by staying off the streets at night.

Chow halls are pretty much the same everywhere we go. And they aren't all that bad. I think Baskin Robbins probably makes a killing over here, and that's fine with me, I love Cookies N Cream ice cream haha. Anyways, that's about all I have to say at this time. I hope you are all doing well, I have a lot of posts ready to be typed up but they are out in the truck and it's pouring rain right now so I'll wait till I get back to Tallil to actually type them up!!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

This ol' highway's getting longer
Seems there ain't no end in sight
To sleep would be best, but I just can't afford to rest
I've got to ride in Denver tomorrow night

Much Too Young - Garth Brooks