[Received November 13] 

Isaiah 43:1b-2: ‘”Fear not, for I have redeemed
you;
I have called you by name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you…”

From Friday, October 19, 2007

5:55 A.M. Houston,

1:55 P.M. Fallujah

Good Day,

It would appear that the Iraqi people admire us tremendously and have gratitude beyond belief. Freedom is becoming tangible to them, finally. They are learning to love it. However, their beliefs about our freedom here in the U.S. is a bit skewed. They have gotten the notion that we have license here to do anything we wish. I hesitate to break this news, but they believe that we’re mostly polygamists. Polygamy is not practiced in Iraq; monogamy is the basis of their society. Although women in Iraq do not enjoy the rights women do here, they do not have to compete with other wives as they do in other countries in the Middle East. I am unsure what gave rise to the belief that we are polygamists. Furthermore, I don’t know if they believe that our men have numerous wives, or that our women have multiple husbands. Perhaps they believe both. Certainly Hollywood may have helped give rise to their perceptions of what we believe. There is much hedonism within our entertainment industry. That crowd does appear to regularly shift marital alliances. Attempting to keep up with them may have given rise to the notion of male or female harems. Of course, if they closely look at our politicians they’ll frequently see the same thing. We are one weird country where our idols are concerned. Another wife? I can’t imagine Greg being able to put up with more than one of me. It would be his death (especially since I don’t like to share where husbands are concerned).

I have been posting pictures of Isabelle, Chris’s precious little goddaughter on “My Space”. I was hoping that Chris could log on to see them. It worked. He hasn’t stopped smiling since he saw his Izzie. I hadn’t the chance to get pictures made and sent at this point. Thankfully I have resolved that problem and he has many snapshots on the way. He wants pictures of everyone back here. Our men and women are over there so that we can live our daily lives without fear. Pictures are good confirmation that their jobs over there keep us happy and safe. Normal life continues here, because of what they do in Iraq, Afghanistan, wherever they are. Please don’t hesitate to send pictures. The guys all love them.

Chris was recovering from some unknown foray. He was “fine”, as always. The definition of fine is far reaching. Most of the definitions cannot be found in the dictionary. The military idea of fine can mean anything ranging from a healthy state of being to just short of being dismembered. It’s all the same to them. Whatever happened, he claimed to have been but lightly affected. His Guardian Angel must be working 24/7…an exhausting job. I’d have to say that the Angel has been successful. Chris has come through so many dangerous circumstances relatively unscathed. He has a few scars, some hearing loss; that’s all.

Chris has been active in what he termed “culture training”. He’s been spending a lot of time with the Iraqi terps (the military abbreviation for interpreter) and soldiers. He’s learning to speak Arabic well. He sits down to smoke the hookah with them in their down time. He has stopped smoking cigarettes, but I don’t think that hookah smoke is much better for him with his recurring pneumonia. He says that the smoke is much cooler from the hookah. This is way out of my league! The only smoking I do is accidentally in the kitchen if something burns or when I light candles. I am glad that he’s spending time with the Iraqi’s. They are able to see that we do care. Chris makes a good ambassador. Knowing that he is a positive influence helps me to be glad that he’s there helping. Our military is making a difference to these people, and I am so proud of them.

I am still behind on my updates. This is getting to be normal for me. I had been hoping to catch up. Thankfully Scarlett O’Hara wasn’t wrong in just thinking about it tomorrow.

God bless the end of your week,

J