Friday, June 27, 2003
(this is the 2 month old letter)
april 18,2003 (snailmail)
greetings babe!
maybe by the time this letter reaches you we will have the e-mail
set up. as you have guessed by now, i am in baghdad. we are staying in one of
saddam's palaces,(castle...whatever). i'm staying in one of the towers
for now, they move us about sometimes. you probably read about my unit in the
paper,it's no secret now. I've been here about a week now and havent recieved
any mail but that is normal. i can't believe how backward and slow the mail service is.
we are attached in a way, to the airforce and they don't seem to be up on the mail.
everyone complains about how slow it is. when i was in the marine corps i
remember it took only about a week or so to send and recieve mail ( even when on ship).
the weather is great here (so far). we don't have power or running water in some parts
of the castle so today i took a bath in the canal nearby. i'll have to wash my clothes in the
same place, just like i used to when i was in p.i. (with a washboard). i found some
charcoal so have a stove, of sorts. we're still waiting on hot chow at this time.
we eat mre's (meal ready to eat) and it makes for a soft stool (that's why my bath
is so importantLOL!) anyway, i miss talking to you via e-mail. it sucks not having your loved ones to
communicate with (it's hard enough just being apart!) i'm sending you a letter first,
i'll write my friends later. like i said, i have'nt recieved any mail from anyone yet...
we flew in at night, all crowded on an old c-130 prop plane. kind of spooky in a way.
some of the guys are bothered by the fact that we made the newspaper. it was supposed to be
secret (some of what we are doing). since the paper already mentioned it, i might as well
tell you i am attached to the special forces and that's why i couldn't talk about things on the
net.(or in letters) special operations is pretty strict about what can be said and can't be said.
but now thanks to the media some things are not secret. i still can't tell you what we do or
are doing but at least you know what i am doing in the military and have a better idea
about how i am living, etc. you know i was bummed out about not being included in some
missions and so forth but a lot of people had to take thier turn doing things. (so i'm not the
only one) this is what i came back in the military for, to do and be part of things
most people only read about or see on t.v. however, i am ready to go home now!LOL
i really miss my real life. i never knew how good i really had it. military life is strange,
to say the least. the other day i got to look through some iraqi barracks. it was spooky...
they left in a hurry it looks like, with thier clothes on bunks and the floor. there were photos
on the walls and lockers. i saw one half-written letter on a bunk. the guy must have left
in a real hurry because he didn't finish it. it was in arabic so i couldn't tell who it was
to, not that i cared, i just felt bad, they're soldiers just like us.
anyway,there's not much i can say. things have slowed down some, the people (locals) seem to like
us enough. again, can't tell you much. how have things been with you? i can imagine
your e-mail to me, i mean i know what you would write, not hearing from me.
we are soulmates, we may even communicate with out e-mail or letters, who knows?
i only know getting back together with you after all these years has made my life so much better.
it's the kind of things in life you don't expect that can be the most rewarding. i know you
have some issues, not unlike me. like me, you are in another country, away from your past
(and way of life). i'm not sure how much more i want to travel. i don't want to spend
my life working but i do have to think of the future.
i hope all is well with you, i miss hearing from you, for sure.
i miss not knowing how you feel and i do worry a little about how you
are doing. i hope we can really be together sometime ( i live for it.)
well, hope to hear from you soon. always thinking of you.....love....m
april 18,2003 (snailmail)
greetings babe!
maybe by the time this letter reaches you we will have the e-mail
set up. as you have guessed by now, i am in baghdad. we are staying in one of
saddam's palaces,(castle...whatever). i'm staying in one of the towers
for now, they move us about sometimes. you probably read about my unit in the
paper,it's no secret now. I've been here about a week now and havent recieved
any mail but that is normal. i can't believe how backward and slow the mail service is.
we are attached in a way, to the airforce and they don't seem to be up on the mail.
everyone complains about how slow it is. when i was in the marine corps i
remember it took only about a week or so to send and recieve mail ( even when on ship).
the weather is great here (so far). we don't have power or running water in some parts
of the castle so today i took a bath in the canal nearby. i'll have to wash my clothes in the
same place, just like i used to when i was in p.i. (with a washboard). i found some
charcoal so have a stove, of sorts. we're still waiting on hot chow at this time.
we eat mre's (meal ready to eat) and it makes for a soft stool (that's why my bath
is so importantLOL!) anyway, i miss talking to you via e-mail. it sucks not having your loved ones to
communicate with (it's hard enough just being apart!) i'm sending you a letter first,
i'll write my friends later. like i said, i have'nt recieved any mail from anyone yet...
we flew in at night, all crowded on an old c-130 prop plane. kind of spooky in a way.
some of the guys are bothered by the fact that we made the newspaper. it was supposed to be
secret (some of what we are doing). since the paper already mentioned it, i might as well
tell you i am attached to the special forces and that's why i couldn't talk about things on the
net.(or in letters) special operations is pretty strict about what can be said and can't be said.
but now thanks to the media some things are not secret. i still can't tell you what we do or
are doing but at least you know what i am doing in the military and have a better idea
about how i am living, etc. you know i was bummed out about not being included in some
missions and so forth but a lot of people had to take thier turn doing things. (so i'm not the
only one) this is what i came back in the military for, to do and be part of things
most people only read about or see on t.v. however, i am ready to go home now!LOL
i really miss my real life. i never knew how good i really had it. military life is strange,
to say the least. the other day i got to look through some iraqi barracks. it was spooky...
they left in a hurry it looks like, with thier clothes on bunks and the floor. there were photos
on the walls and lockers. i saw one half-written letter on a bunk. the guy must have left
in a real hurry because he didn't finish it. it was in arabic so i couldn't tell who it was
to, not that i cared, i just felt bad, they're soldiers just like us.
anyway,there's not much i can say. things have slowed down some, the people (locals) seem to like
us enough. again, can't tell you much. how have things been with you? i can imagine
your e-mail to me, i mean i know what you would write, not hearing from me.
we are soulmates, we may even communicate with out e-mail or letters, who knows?
i only know getting back together with you after all these years has made my life so much better.
it's the kind of things in life you don't expect that can be the most rewarding. i know you
have some issues, not unlike me. like me, you are in another country, away from your past
(and way of life). i'm not sure how much more i want to travel. i don't want to spend
my life working but i do have to think of the future.
i hope all is well with you, i miss hearing from you, for sure.
i miss not knowing how you feel and i do worry a little about how you
are doing. i hope we can really be together sometime ( i live for it.)
well, hope to hear from you soon. always thinking of you.....love....m
