Home at Last

My Odyssey has ended.

Although it did not last ten years as Odysseus' did, it was an adventure nonetheless. It was great to break through the high blotchy PNW clouds on Friday night as I touched down. In many ways time froze when I was gone. I came home to my condo. I had Seattle Seahawks articles, fresh from their NFC Championship win. There was also one that summarized the area's Superbowl depression. One of my calendars was still stuck on February 2006, the month I left. The annoying neighbor downstairs had once again parked her car in my reserved spot. All of the physical items of my life before Iraq were and are still in place.

The time freeze so to speak has begun to thaw. A lot has changed since my departure six months ago. One of my best friends is married, another one just became engaged. It is now September, profesional and college football has started as well as Diablo playoff baseball. These things are what I looked forward to for so long and I am very glad to finally be able to experience them. I am also experiencing a bit of emptiness. With the mission I did and the WTFness, I forged a pretty tight bond with those I worked with. I hard charged for six months with a close knit group of great people and then all of a sudden it was over. That is why I am very much looking forward to seeing more of my family, friends and getting caught up on what they have been up to so I can fill this void. As I said in one of my other prior entries, my tour and mission in Iraq was something unpredictible but in the end it was right. I also realize that as I write this post it is September 11. I hope that everyone reading takes a moment of silence prayer etc. to remember these vicious attacks, the loss of innocent life and the reasons why a fight is needed to ensure this never happens again on our soil!!! I also wish Gods be to my friend Jon "aka" Lt Freedom, and all soldiers who remain in Iraq fighting this good fight. I pray and know that they too will reach home safely.

A long Strange Trip

Three countries, and a 22 hour plane ride later, I now find myself back in the U.S. The late Jerry Garcia's words, "What a long strange trip it's been," come to mind as I continue to adjust and figure out what the hell happened over the past six months and what lies ahead from here. I still haven't quite made it back to Seattle so I really do not feel like I am "home" yet. I am spending a couple more days than I would prefer at Ft. Bliss in El Paso Texas due to stateside nonsense and inability of DoD civilians to do their job competently. It seems like once again the jacked upness of the WTF reached the across the banks of the Persian Gulf and Atlantic Ocean and spread to Ft. Bliss. The good news about being here for a couple of days is my ability to begin my alcohol reintegration training in haste. I have been able to enjoy an El Paso trade mark margarita or two at a place called Carlos and Mickey's. I am also enjoying the little things such as the smell of freshly cut grass, trees, and the high desert mountains of the Southwest and not being insanely hot. There was actually rain when I arrived. Although I am still not quite home yet, I know how great it feels to be back in the greatest country on earth. I am still not quite used to the change of pace. I compare re-deployment (military speak for leaving combat) to jumping off a freight train at full speed. I worked often from 10am to 10pm with half days on Fridays. It was Ground Hog Day for six months. It is wierd watching television, being able to eat when I choose to rather than having to go between 11:30-13:30 and 17:30-21:00. It is nice to have options once again, but it is different nonetheless. The one thing that will complete this long strange trip is seeing my family, the Seattle Space Needle, the Olympic Mountains with their reflection glistening off the Puget Sound and flying next to the snow capped top of Mt. Rainer. I can't wait.