My Brother Rocks

I had the privilege of talking to my brother, Sgt D, this afternoon. He was using Skype (free internet phone) to call me from Iraq.

One of the most exciting things he told me was that the weather was starting to cool down, and he was excited to be experiencing the cool temperatures. FYI, the daily highs are now in the low 100s. I should point out that there was only sincerity, no sarcasm, in his voice.

He is fortunate in that his duties keep him out of the line of fire. However, he is experiencing extreme boredom, which one could argue is a danger of a different kind. Because of his position, he really is not able to socialize with any of the other troops. He goes to work (which is currently not busy), and then goes home to his dorm-room sized room. That's it. There is nowhere else to go, nothing else to do. I know that I fantasize about being bored, but the prospect of facing an entire day of extreme nothing is frightening. You have four tiny walls and your computer for company. There is only so much time you can spend playing on your computer, and watching old tv shows on Hulu. You can only read for so long. And then you have another 6 hours until bedtime.

I am not the world's greatest phone conversationalist (I'm a listener, not a talker), and I'm afraid I did nothing to entertain my poor brother on the phone. I'm also horrible at correspondence, so again, he's not getting much in the way of witty emails from me. I'd like to publicly say that I'm sorry for that, Bro. I do think of you lots... however, I know that while knowledge of this may give you a warm fuzzy inside, it doesn't do much else.


Please, everyone, take this time to send a letter/email/care package to those you know serving our country away from home. I pray that they are all safe, and the worst enemy they are currently fighting is boredom. Because that is something we all can help them fight.

And, BIGGEST call-out to Sgt D. I am so proud of you, Bro! (PS. I hear stamp collecting is a really exciting hobby :)