Iraq

On September 11 I started to post a bunch of pictures my son sent me while he was in Iraq.

After 12 or so pictures my computer and the blog site refused to post any more pictures so I cut the blog short.

It took me a few days to figure out where the problem was.

It turns out that this sight only provides 1 GB of space free, and after eight straight months of posting exactly 1000 pictures the site officially cut me off.

It cost my Mountain Boy $120 to clean out my computer at the geek-shop (which it turns out did not have any impact on my ability to post pictures on this site, but sure made my lap top a lot faster), and then another five bucks when he and the geek-shop-guy finally figured out that I had maxed out and the site wanted money.

Five dollars for 20GB of space seems like a pretty good deal to me.  And at the pace I have been blogging that should last me through most of my 50's...............

Some pictures that my son sent to me while he was still over there.

There were marked differences between his first and second tour.

The first time he was over there he was incredibly busy, his base and all neighboring international bases positioned in the Green Zone were overrun with military personnel and civilian contractors, and he worked long hours.

The second time he was there he still worked 80 hours a week but he did not really work.  He was just.......there.  With not a lot to do.

The Green Zone was a much quieter place, the noise was less, the number of people were less, the intensity of everyone's work was less.  The downscaling of forces and operations had already begun by the time he returned for his second tour........

The first time he was there he slept in a tent, and had to steal blankets and pillows.

The second time he slept in an air conditioned trailer, had pillows and blankets, and shared the space with only one other.........

The first time he was there he was so busy and so wound up, all he did was work and sleep.

The second time I was searching stores and the internet for videos of Brittney Spears because all the guys had decided they were in lust with Brittney Spears...........that and lots of weight training.........

The first time he would call me often in the middle of night, wake me up, and while I sat at the house in Tennessee in my pyjamas with my feet up on the desk, and while he sat in uniform over in Iraq, we would talk about whatever came to mind for over an hour at a time.

The second time he would call me only sporadically, and talk for only a few minutes before one of us would be cut off in mid-sentence when we got disconnected..........

Chris.

There are a few pictures of him here..........

And one of Saddam's palaces.............