Letters From Tim

Despite a fine layer of sand on EVERYTHING and extreme temperatures, Tim is doing very well.

I heard from him yesterday for the first time. What a great sound! Interesting how our phone conversations instantly became more special when they are coming across from such a distance. And…is no one else amazed by technology? He didn’t sound like he was in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert but right next door.

Important things to note…the chow hall has Baskin Robbins’ Pralines ‘N Cream and all of the tents in which they operate/sleep have moderate air conditioning as well.

Talk about small world…get a load of this! When Tim went to flight school in the mid-90s, he was assigned a ’stick buddy’ for the entire year. Jeff was a great guy, however, we lost touch except for the occasional holiday card over the past decade. Well…guess who is back together again and on their first deployment! Jeff and Tim caught back up with each other earlier this year when Jeff saw Tim’s name as part of the deployment roster. So…stick buddies together again but with a great deal more experience and flight hours under their belts.

The aviators will begin significant training over the next few days learning how to land the Blackhawks on sand. Apparently, it becomes a very difficult task when all visibility (and the horizon) is lost. Tim described it as landing in a dust bowl or brown cloud. Hard to believe that the aircraft can take all that sand in…good thing there is such a fantastic maintenance crew deployed with them to keep the helicopters in working order.

On a separate note…the kids seem to be doing well. Briggs decided to raid Tim’s supply of MREs yesterday.  These are ‘meals-ready-to-eat’ distributed by the military when a hot meal is not provided. Perhaps that was a sign that I better have dinner ready a bit earlier. In any case, the boys and I had a smörgåsbord of MREs picnic-style in Gage’s bedroom. Briggs said, “This is Army food. Daddy is eating Army food. We must eat Army food.”

We opened two MREs which included: “Beefsteak, chopped and formed, grilled with mushroom gravy” and “Pork chop, chunked and formed, in Jamaican style sauce with noodles”. Now, I was not terribly fond of the word “formed” but I went along for the ride. I would think the food manufacturers could come up with something more appetizing…and why such long descriptions? Why not…Jamaican Pork Chop or Steak with Mushroom Gravy? Why the chopped and formed?

So…what did the boys actually eat? They loved the crackers, squeezable peanut butter, and spiced apples. They tried the Slim Jim and Chocolate Shake. They thought the accessory packet that comes along with the meals was the best…napkin, hot sauce, matches, gum, and wet wipe. Needless to say, I did have to later fix a kid-friendly meal.

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Special thanks to…Susan Hyten for the soup. Beth, Susan, Sarah, Nick, and Jacob for helping me move furniture (remember the home improvement plan that began after Tim left?). Ann Smith for the call. Tracy, Amie, Beth, and Stacy for hanging out. Sheryl for the goodies. Tracy for taking Briggs to the waterpark. Matt for the lantern when our electricity went out. Amie for the sleepovers. My dad for running errands for me. My mom for always stopping in to see if I could use some help.