Angels, Mud and Lube: The Final Chapter

2 days ago I was feeling a bit down. Not really depressed, just a little homesick and maybe feeling a little as though what I was doing wasn't making a difference - that maybe people had forgotten that I was here. I hadn't recieved any of the 'many' care packages that were supposedly headed my way and not a single letter or post card has greeted me since my arrival. It was just at the low point of my afternoon when a marine came running in saying, "Doc! You gotta come over here. You've got like 20 packages in the mail room and tons of letters all with your name on them. Man, you must have quite a few girlfriends back home!" That comment aside - I ran over to the mailroom with the speed of a child who was running from his bedroom to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning to see if there were presents underneath. What my eyes saw when I arrived were about 25 packages and 20 letters from an Organization called Soldiers for Angels. And as if it couldn't get any better, deep among the packages was one with handwriting I recognized - my mother's. (Who could ever not recognize her backhand?)

I had to make 5 trips back and forth to get all of the stuff to Medical, but I finally did it. I opened up the Soldiers For Angels packages first. Inside was coffee, candy, socks, underwear, t-shirts, granola, soap, shampoo, razors, you name it - oh, and of course, a case of lube! (pictured above) I unloaded it and laid it all out ,as if I were laying out my candy after going trick or treating. I then sent an e-mail to everyone in the squadron letting everyone know there were free items for them to pick up. Within 12 hours, the whole lot of it was cleared out. Of course, the lube was first to go. Which reminds me, I need to close the loop on the lube saga. The man who sent it mailed me one final e-mail on the subject, it reads as follows:

"I picked up the rest of my order and brought it home Sunday, where I
left it sitting on top of the dryer.

My 20 year-old son, with his girlfriend in tow, came up to me later that
evening. He just sort of smacked one of the six-packs of bottles down
on the counter and with a friendly smile that could only be described as
a smirk offered, "must have been a good anniversary".

So I had to explain the whole thing, with this pretty young blonde lady
standing there. No problem, these colllege kids are pretty wordly.
Then my wife walked into the kitchen in the middle of the story. She
got embarrased all over again, but we all had a good laugh it.

Thus, the lube saga just keeps growing."

Anyway, I saved my mom's package for last. She sent me Tastycake Butterscotch Krimpets and Coffee Cakes - YUM! She also sent me a magazine, granola and some rice krispy treats, but the best gift of all was a picture frame with a picture in it from when she and I went to the Hershey Chocolate Factory in PA before I left for Iraq. I put the frame on my desk right next to my computer so I can stare at it all day (guess theres still a little bit of mama's boy in me yet!)

Yesterday came the second shipment of packages. This one was all about Java! We got several kinds of coffee, dvds, someone made a few cd mixes, some brown t-shirts, and more of the items I previously mentioned. This time I'm letting the day crew (versus the night crew) have first dibs of the litter. Everyone has been pretty fair about it though. We've saved all the letters, mailing addresses and e-mails of the people who sent us items and each of us is going to try to contact one person at the very least and my squadron ia talking about sending out formal thank yous.

One of the most inspiring things is that with each relief package we get a stack of postcards with an American Flag on the front and some writing on the back of who its from, city and state and a personal message. The past 2 nights we've read each of these cards and sometimes nearly cried at the inspirational things people had to say. War veterans from WWII, the Vietnam War and the Korean War have written us. Women as old as 95 and Hawaiian children from a local grade school as young as 8 have written us. It's pretty amazing. Some say, "Don't believe the media hype, we all support you and what you're doing." Others say, "You guys are putting your bodies where other people put only put their mouths. God Bless You!" And still others say, "You guys make me proud to be an American!" Whatever they say, or however they put it, its always inspiring and gives me such a warm and positive feeling inside to know that these people care. When we're done reading them, we distribute the cards to the squadron so they can read them as well. Angels For Soldiers - wherever you are - God Bless You!

And to all my friends and family who have packages on the way - thank you for taking the time and writing/sending me something. You don't know how much it means to me!

Today I awoke to the sound of very loud clapping thunder. It was awesome. Of course, it's pouring outside, but I didn't let that stop my good mood. I hopped on my bike and trecked through the mud to the rec center to post this blog. Except that when I arrived and got off my bike, I noticed two things. First, there was a wet ass imprint on the back of my Flight Suit that the Ugandan guards got a good chuckle out of and second, I didn't realize that the bike was kicking up mud, sand, dirt and rain from my back tires and the entire back of my flight suit is filthy. Oh well, 'Scheiss passiert' as they say in Deutschland!

Some people are asking what I still need and (what the soldiers over here can always use) if you need ideas:
* liquid soap
* luffa sponges
* razors (Gillette Mach 3)
* Fitness magazines and books
* decorations and posters
* hand sanitizer
* protein bars, please.
* dried fruit (Sunmaid mixed fruit, prunes, apricots, etc)
* a new CD or a mixed CD that you make
* a DVD with some pictures on it
* anything that would make me smile, including a personal letter
* gym shorts, nike, adidas, size M or L (you judge)
* sleeveless athletic shirt to work out in
DON'T SEND:
Goldbonds Powder (we have about 15 cases)
Jergins Lotion (we now have huge boxes)
Toothbrushes (we just got 300 Oral Bs)
:)

Well, thats it for now. Have a great weekend and I'll post again soon.

Peace!
-RJ