Thursday, November 27, 2003

 

Today is Thanksgiving

 

I want to wish all of you reading my journal a very happy Thanksgiving. This is a great time of year from now until Christmas, a time of sharing, giving and being grateful for all that we have been blessed with. We live in a great country as do many of you in your respective place of residence, wherever that may be. We have been blessed abundantly with so much, for which we must be eternally grateful.

 

I love this time of year with all the feasts, people visiting, lights, tradition, and all the festivities. This is my favorite time of year, even with all the changes in the weather, even with the snowy cold days, and even with the throngs of people bustling about. It is a time for sharing with so many people, which in turn makes so many people happier.

 

I am usually cooking the Thanksgiving dinner about this time back home, having spent the evening before getting all the goodies purchased and ready. I love cooking the Thanksgiving meal, with all the trimmings and all the tasty treats. I will definitely miss it this year and more than anything I will, without a doubt, miss being with all the people in my life. Fortunately I have a group of guys I call my military family, which are a pretty good substitute.

 

May we all look for opportunities to share with those not as fortunate as us.

 

Christmas in Iraq

 

A special thanks and Happy Thanksgiving goes out to Gary and Terry back at FedEx who sent me a few boxes of Christmas decorations, which even included a 6-foot tree, for the office. So yesterday when I had the chance I put the Christmas decorations up, even with presents under the nicely decorated tree, which has lights, ornaments and everything. I even have 9 stockings hung in a row with the individual names of each debriefer in my office. It is really very festive, a special treat for people to behold (since it is the only tree in the CPA palace that I know of).

 

Thanks so much for assisting us in bringing the spirit of Christmas to all that enter our office, especially for all of us that are here away from home this time of year. You will never know how much this means to me. You are so totally awesome; words can’t describe how I feel about what you are doing for us.

 

A special thanks also goes out to Jean at FedEx she sent us an honest to goodness hot air popcorn popper, with popcorn, so now we even have the great aroma of popcorn wafting through the building. Just fantastic!         

 

The people at FedEx just kick butt.

 

The Turkey Trot

 

Rain was pounding on my trailer roof this morning, like an alarm clock, waking me from a restful sleep. I was hoping to participate in the 5k Turkey Run, but hearing the rain I hesitated thinking “do I really want to run in the pouring rain�. The rain stopped right after it began giving me hope, which forced me out of bed to prepare for the run.

 

With poncho in hand I walked down to the starting spot to stretch in preparation. Quite a crowd had gathered for the occasion what seemed to be over 200 people, all out for an early morning fun run.

 

It was my first real day off since about the end of July, when I came to the palace. So my spirits were exceptionally high this morning, along with the overall feeling of the crowd, which seemed to be full of spunk and vigor. Everyone was laughing and joking around not taking the race too serious, it was a fun run for heck sake.

 

The runners were off, letting the first group of really good runners go by I started at the back of the pack just trying to find my pace, trying to be oblivious to the other runners. Surprisingly it felt pretty good, just jogging along at a pace that actually propelled me past many other runners.

 

It was the perfect temperature for a run, now that the rain at stopped, it turned out to be the ideal situation. The roads were a little muddy, which in the end made us all look like we had been riding our bikes around in mud puddles, streaking the back of our legs and pants.

 

As I came across the finish line I was handed card 33 indicating my position and time, which later, during the awards ceremony, gave me first place in my age group. I was pleased to have finished in around 21 minutes, which was not bad for an older boy.

 

I returned to my trailer to clean up and relax watching “Lady Hawk� DVD until the big lunch was to begin. In that I was covered in mud, I decided to shower shoes and all to get the dirt off.

 

 

Sharing Joys with Toys

 

I got a call from the North gate from a source who had come out with his kids to introduce them to me. I was happy to oblige, as I dashed out the door to quickly make a stop at the warehouse to pick up a few toys. He had a beautiful eight-year-old daughter and two cute twin boys who were 6 years old.

 

I put together a small box of school supplies, stuffed animals, small toy cars and special items I thought each would like, with a couple of new toothbrushes and toothpaste to top it off.

 

I pulled up in the toy bus, motioning for them to jump in, as the father grabbed the kids and pushed them inside. I drove over to a quite spot out of traffic, which surprisingly had all but come to a stand still today.

 

The kids were so quite, so shy to speak to me, not really sure about how to act around an American. They were all dressed up in their finest clothes, nicely groomed, obviously cleaned up for the occasion.  They were beautiful kids, obviously taking after their mother, who wasn’t able to make the trip.

 

I sat the box on my lap taking out each item, handing them one by one to a child, whose eyes opened widely and their mouth dropped open anticipating the gift of happiness. They were so appreciative, so well mannered as they offered up a quiet “thank you, very much�, in Arabic.

 

There is nothing that can compare to a child’s expression when they receive something like a toy, which brings a moment of pure unadulterated happiness. There really are “Joys in Toys�.

 

The End of Ramadan

 

The month of Ramadan, a full month of fasting, came to an end last Monday, bringing an end to the fasting and the beginning of three days of “Eid�, which is a three day period of feasting and gift giving. For those Christians out there this is similar to Christmas here in the Middle East. As such it is customary for the families to travel around to friends and relatives, partaking of food and giving gifts.

 

So it is expected, if someone drops in with their children, to prepare gifts for the kids or give them money or both. This was the third such family who during this period had brought their children over to meet me, which gave me an opportunity to give special items of joy to the children and making a lasting impression on the parents.

 

Sharing in a custom

 

I have been so delighted to be able, through your humble donations, to participate in this custom. Your toys have made so many things come to life with these children, making it possible for literally thousands of children to feel the joy a toy can bring. You will never know how happy these kids are to receive even one small toy, bringing such happiness to children in a land full of unhappiness and sorrow. 

 

People do feel the love that these toys were sent with. Parents do feel the joy their children express and do understand where these are coming from. It is really a great thing. Thanks so much!!!!

 

Turkey too

 

We did have a great meal today on Thanksgiving, a really totally awesome meal considering where we are at and what we are doing here. The dining facility really out did them selves this time. They really did it all, right down to the last detail.

 

Our Thanksgiving meal had everything you can imagine; sliced turkey, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, yams, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, rolls, cranberry sauce, several types of pie including pumpkin pie, and shrimp cocktail and you name it, it was here. They even pulled out the china, serving us on real plates, not plastic, with real silverware, and they even had a form of eggnog, wow. It was a feast to behold, what a special treat.

 

They had the dinning facility nicely decorated with ice sculptures, and bread made into animal shapes, with decorations on the walls, and a huge horn of plenty with all the harvest items. Unbelievable, they really pulled out all the stops and went the extra mile on this one.

 

I gorged myself and then a couple of hours later went back for more, just wanting to savor the flavors over and over, having forgotten what many of those things taste like. It really helped on a day like today to have all the treats of home, right here in Baghdad, helping us forget for a moment where we are.

 

We even took our plates up to the office so that we could turn on the Kenny G Christmas music while we eat, further adding to the ambiance.

 

Thanks to all who help make that happen. Just another example of what the American spirit is all about. We really do care and it shows in our actions. We love you guys.

Find a way

 

No matter where you are or where you go there are so many opportunities to share something we have with another, making a lasting impression on everyone we touch. We can in any situation make a difference in another person’s life, by sometimes the most seemingly insignificant acts of kindness. There is always a way to have a Good Luck Fairy moment as we hustle around in our daily life, even when we think we are too busy.

 

As I drove back from the North gate in my bus I passed by a couple of guys walking along the side of the road. Seeing them I turned the bus around to see if they needed a lift to where ever they were going. The jumped aboard indicating they were going my way. They saw the stuffed animals on the dashboard of my bus, which I usually leave there so the kids will know it is my when I pull up. But, this time the man told me of his two kids at home, their names and ages, so I willingly gave up the two animals I was saving for such a special occasion.

 

He was so excited to have received the animals and as he got off at his stop, he could not stop thanking me for my generosity, commenting that if the Iraqi people really knew what the Americans were like they would change their attitudes and be more willing to cooperate with us in all that we are doing.

 

We just never know if the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Hong Kong might cause a hurricane of wind across the waters at the other end of the world in perhaps England. 

 

Sometimes it requires that we bust out of our cocoon and make an effort to flap our wings that will start the chain of events bringing about a difference in the hearts and minds of the people we come in contact with. Each of us must take the initiative to see what we might accomplish through seemingly insignificant acts of love and kindness.

 

We need to pay attention to the promptings of the spirit as we go about our daily lives, being guided to those people that we might assist, or aid, or influence in some small way.

 

Take a moment to help someone.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Chief Wiggles