Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4: “To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
… A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;”

Date: Early October (I didn’t write it down)

Some time around 9:30 A.M., Houston

5:30 P.M., Fallujah

Good Morning,

Chris called on this particular morning while Patrick and I were at the dentist’s. I was, in fact, finished, but still sitting in Kathy’s chair when the call came in. Chris must have known he was being discussed and his ears burning. He had had a lovely day with humanitarian aid. His job had been to give kids shots against childhood diseases that have been almost eradicated here. Although he didn’t enjoy the inevitable tears, he did hand out candy afterwards (which is a great thing to relate to everyone at the dentist’s: that Chris is actively destroying the teeth of Iraqi children.) He delighted in the smiles that the candy brought out. “Their smiles are worth all.”, he said. They completely made his day. I teased him about rotting their teeth out with candy, and he said perhaps he’d hand out dental floss for a follow up next time. They probably wouldn’t know what to do with it. As it transpires, Mike Doyle, our dentist said that the people of the Middle East have some of the best teeth around. Their diet keeps theirs far healthier than ours. So much for all our flossing and brushing. We need to change our entire diet!

Chris went on to tell me about observations that he has made while training with the Iraqi Army. They are learning a great deal about our “Pop Culture” and the implements we Americans use daily. One of these is the toothbrush. We take them for granted, such a small item to use. The Iraqi’s used it in a slightly different fashion than we do. They took said articles (every last one of them!) and lathered them up on bars of soap. Then they proceeded to use them to scrub their hairy chests. They were diligent in the scrubbing, to the point of raw flesh. Once the chest and hair was well cleaned, the toothbrushes were then used to comb the hairs out to detangle them. I never thought about using mine that way. Of course, I am not hirsute enough to make it work for me. Chris said that the end result was terrible. It looked as though they all had road rash from falling off motorcycles and sliding on their chests. It must have been a painful process, but manly. However, I hasten to remind everyone that Iraqi teeth are in superior shape when compared to ours. In addition, their chest hair is better groomed.

Our “Pop Culture” comes as a bit of a shock to them. Chris has been sharing his music with one of the interpreters. I am uncertain who among you knows the Carrie Underwood song “Before He Cheats”. It relates what a woman scorned can do to your truck when you give her cause. She bashes headlights out with a Louisville Slugger, carves her name on his leather seats, little things to tell the guy that she has noticed his infidelity and is miffed. When this interpreter heard what the girl in the song had done he was clearly horrified. He said it was B.S.! Females are not regarded with the same respect over there. Frequently they are seen as chattel to be owned (like the unfortunate truck in the song). Anyway, the interpreter told Chris quite seriously and calmly that if his wife did that to a vehicle he owned he would kill her. Of course car ownership over there is a bit more rare than it is here. However, some of the rednecks here regard their trucks passionately as well. They could possibly relate to this man in Iraq. I do hope that he doesn’t believe that this is behavior common to every American woman. The interpreter never did address the main issue in the song, the man’s infidelity. I am not sure that I would want to know how he felt. Iraq is not a polygamous country, but I think that whatever pleasure a man seeks would probably not be questioned.

Chris was getting ready to do some “chillin’” for a space. He really had enjoyed his day with the kids. God is gracious in giving him good days like these. I prefer them to the alternative. Laughter and smiles are treasures. I’ll take them any time. I do love finding out cultural differences, too. I’m certain that ours are funny to them as well.

Have a blessed weekend,

J