Communication

How do we keep up with Gunner while he is in Iraq? It is not easy. As his m-in-law, I encourage him to direct his phone calls and letters to his wife and children. I can get my info from them and he doesn't need to divert his brief opportunities for communication.

My father served in WWII and Korea and one of my brothers served in Vietnam. We lived on tenterhooks in those days of snail mail communication. Onion skin paper for airmail letters that arrived infrequently and in bunches, bore news that was old by the time we got it. Of course, not much news was allowed and the ink almost obscured the writing because Dad wrote on both side of the thin paper. It was enough just knowing he could find a few moments to write and that he was still alive. No TV news in the early years. Mother and I walked two miles to the Post Office twice each day, hoping for a letter. After receiving one, we would rest a couple of days before starting our trek again. Our images came from newspaper photos and MovieTone News. Now, the troops have some access to e-mail and, sometimes, webcams. We watched in awe as we saw the war unfold.

The best way we have to keep up with what is going on now, is through Babcock. Bob Babcock is relentless in searching out pertinent news and passing it on to those of us who must wait behind.

From Babcock's Newsletter:

"...There is nothing on this green earth that is stronger than the US Army, because there is nothing on this green earth that is stronger than a US Army Soldier..."

For the latest news, pictures, and information from 4ID, regularly check: http://pao.hood.army.mil/4ID/index.html

Baghdad 4 Day weather forecast - beginning March 14:

Fri, Hi - 76, Lo - 60, mostly sunny;

Sat, Hi - 72, Lo - 50, sunny;

Sun, Hi - 76, Lo - 50, partly cloudy;

Mon, Hi - 80, Lo - 54, mostly sunny.

300 From 4th ID 1st Brigade Continue With Deployment
Posted on: Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 3:22 AM
By Amanda Kim Stairrett

Killeen Daily Herald
About 300 Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team left Fort Hood for the Middle East on Monday morning. The Soldiers are set to serve 15 months in Iraq. Soldiers of the 1st Brigade are expected to continue leaving Fort Hood through the end of the week. It was announced in late October that the 1st Brigade's deployment would be pushed back several months. Those Soldiers were originally scheduled to leave Fort Hood in November and December. The change was likely based on the then-current situation in Iraq, and with drawdowns and re-alignments, the Army didn't need 1st Brigade until March, Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a brigade spokesman, said in October.

Friends and Family members who would want to receive updates, send first and last names from the email address they want me to use, and ask to be added to my distribution list. Anyone who wants to receive these direct from me is more than welcome to be put onto my distribution list. Babcock224@aol.com

Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"President, Deeds Publishing - http://www.deedspublishing.com/ President, Americans Remembered - http://www.americansremembered.org/
Past President, 22nd Infantry Regiment Society - http://www.22ndinfantry.org/
Past President, Historian, National 4th Infantry Div Assn - http://www.4thinfantry.org/PO Box 682222, Marietta, GA 30068 - Phone 678-480-4422 (cell)

We Can Start the Countdown

Gunner left today. Of course, it wasn't that simple. He was supposed to leave at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, so we all gathered and hurried to wait, just as Army families have been doing for years, but his deployment was delayed. Then it was delayed again and everyone finally got a couple of hours sleep. Deployment departure finally occurred about 11 a.m today. You will notice there are no women here. This is a combat unit.

Today DD#2, Gunner's Mom & Dad, and I, stood around and bantered for 3 hours. It was decided not to put the children through another day of show-up-and-change, so they were all dropped at school. His Mom & Dad had already taken 1 1/2 days off work and we were still in limbo, so they had to leave. Finally, we went into the gym - troops in one door and families in another. Ribbons of tape separated two areas in the gym where loved ones said their final goodbyes - troops on one side of the tape and families on the other.

Em is old enough to understand now that Daddy will be gone for a while and Abs is close to that age. Of course, Dad is gone a lot - to the field, CQ all night, training in another state, and now his 3rd tour to Iraq. Gunner is sad to go but is well-trained for his job, has lots of equipment, and reacts automatically. Jr. slammed a drawer behind Gunner's head this morning and Gunner dropped to the floor. While our soldier has been waiting, he has been mentally preparing.

A conversation with Em told another part of the story when she lamented that her Dad would be leaving again.
"Well, he has been home a long time now and it is time for him to go and let someone else come home. He has been home 15 months. That's a long time," her mother explained.
"But he will be gone a long time," Em cried.
"Only 15 months," her mother said, "that's not so long."

Well, time is relative, isn't it?

Odd Shots Monday - "Boots & Bus"

These were taken in Seoul, Korea.

See more Odd Shots

Here is another photo and the explanation.
It is difficult to see the boots all lined up under the bus in this shot. The men standing to the side of the bus have on tennis shoes and appear to be taking a break from whatever they were doing. One saw me and pointed me out to the others while another held up his hand in the classic signal for "stop." I don't know what they were doing. They have "winged" symbols on their caps and are standing in front of a gated area which might have been a military or police compound. Thinking I might have breached some sort of security, I hurried on my way, dodging a barrage of unintelligable Korean comments.

So there you have the rest of the story . What do you think it means?

Memory Box - "Backyard Wildlife"

DD#2 keeps bugging me to draw from the Memory Box. I have to admit, I am a little slow about it sometimes because it can bring a torrent of memories and I have to deal with them before I can draw again. This morning, however, I did draw one....

" I remember the one squirrel that appeared in our yard and you took a whole roll of film of him."

While I admit I was enamored of the creatures that were reluctant to move out of their homes to accommodate our intrusion, and I was prone to try to document our lives by photography, I do think "a whole roll of film" is a bit of an exaggeration.

We had moved from a suburban area in Australia where screeching galahs and cockatoos flew overhead, while laughing kookaburras perched on the brick fence in back of our house. We had moved to a treeless plain in Texas that had previously housed grazing cattle belonging to a local farmer. The seasons were defined by the bird population on our 1 1/2 acre yard - a sea of yellow and gray meadowlarks singing in the summer, a snow-like ,white covering of honking snow geese migrating through in the winter, and robins drunk on fermented pyracantha berries in January / February.

Killdeer laid their eggs in nests built on the ground, exposing their potential progeny to being ravaged by one of our many cats, while the mockingbird swooped down to attack any unwary feline. Ground squirrels appeared from their underground homes, sometimes accompanied by babies which were, temporarily, abandoned close to the entry hole. I agonized over the possible fate of those mewling toddlers as their parents demonstrated a form of "tough love." The red wing hawk watched from above.

Most of these populations wisely moved on as the surrounding rice fields and farm lands succumbed to encroachment by builders who left sturdy rooftop dwellings in their wake. There were too many humans and domesticated predators for the local wildlife.

With the advent of trees and landscaping, the rare pheasant and sage hen gave way to ducks from our neighbor's pond. The leader led his harem daily to visit our yard, looking for bugs as they waddled their way to our pear tree. They feasted on fallen pears, then headed home chattering happily. Sadly, they disappeared one by one, to grace our neighbor's table.

We planted fruit trees, pine trees, a palm tree, crepe myrtles, and two pecan trees. It was when the trees began to gain height that the squirrels arrived. It was a smorgasbord for the squirrel community. Fortunately, it took them a while to find us. Thus, a squirrel was a real novelty. A cute, little, furry critter that would bide his time from a distance, skitter in to reap the best of the harvest, then scamper away with a twitch of a feathery tail just to let us know who was really in charge of the area. Is it any wonder I took a few pictures?

There was not a huge influx of squirrels before we moved, but there were probably more around than we were privileged to see. Little trees popped up in the most unusual places, planted, I am quite certain, by squirrels trying to stock a winter larder. They are certainly more plentiful now. Peeking from the branches of the tall trees, scudding over the telephone wires, and wantonly racing cars across the road, this symbol of suburban wildlife is no longer a novelty in the area. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography, I don't have to use a "whole roll of film" to photgraph a squirrel.

Wordless Wednesday - "Golden Bhudda"

Job Opening

Three medieval towns in the Kathmandu valley worship pre-pubescent girls as the living embodiment of the goddess Taleju.

There is a job opening for a Kumari (Goddess) in Bhaktapur, a town near the capital of Nepal. Sajani Shakya, age 11, has just retired from the post so the committee is searching for a new Goddess. Qualifications were not posted but can be gleaned. Sajani was chosen when she was two years old, a fact that indicates there might be some age discrimination. Also the position calls for a pre-pubescent female, that leaves out the guys. Applicants can count on early retirement, mandatory at the onset of puberty. There is no mention of whether or not this is a "Royal Kumari" position. Such a position would require the chosen one to bless Nepal's king once a year and be confined to a crumbling, ornate palace in the historic heart of old Kathmandu.

In Bhaktapur, the local Kumari goes to a local school and lives with her family. She is paraded for worship once a year during the festival of Dasain. Not a particularly stressful schedule, but there is no mention of reimbursement for relocation expenses.Sajani caused quite a stir and lost her job for a while when she visited the U.S. Typically, Kumari are not allowed to travel. After much controversy, she underwent a "cleansing ceremony" and regained her status as Kumari.

Now there is a job opening. Sajani's family opted to participate in another traditional ceremony that prompted her retirement. Last month, Sajani was married to a fruit.

Sajani's father explained,

"In Bhaktapur, we have a tradition to get our girls married to a Bael (Aegle marmelos), a fruit dedicated to Lord Shiva, around the age of 10 or 11."

A Visit with the the Refugees

I visited the refugees again yesterday, taking DD#2 and Em with me.
The unrelated, young woman who is now living with the mother and 2 children, had arrived the night before. Apparently, it is typical for non-family members to be taken in so everyone seemed quite comfortable with the arrangement. The young woman is 20 years old and exhibits a maturity beyond her years. Both her parents "were killed."

I had a mission. A parishioner had donated a vacuum cleaner and it was still in the box when we left after setting up the apartment. There was no reason to believe they had ever seen such a machine, so education in its use was my primary goal. Thank goodness DD was there. It took both of us to finally get the vacuum cleaner put together. I had always thought those machines came out of the package ready to use, but this one required a few screws. We found a screw driver in the toy we had brought for the son. After putting it together, I picked the unit up by the handle to move it and it fell apart.
"Aha! That's where those extra screws are supposed to go!"

Finally, it was running. I explained, using exaggerated sign language and the minimal interpretive skills of the family's neighbor, how to work the machine. The mother skittered to a corner when I turned the vacuum on. I handled it and showed her how it worked, then enticed her over, nearer the perceived monster. Gingerly, she took the handle and watched with awe as small bits of leaves that had blown in through the door, were lifted and sucked into the tornadic insides of the see-through canister. I wonder if she will ever use it.

The neighbor-who-spoke-minimal-English related the mother's experience from the night before. "She heard a humming noise in the kitchen and was afraid. Then she discovered the noise was from the refrigerator. She had never had (seen?) a refrigerator before."
I'll bet she gets accustomed to it very quickly!

Em had taken equipment to share a couple of crafts with the 14 year old. They were joined by the 20 y/o, and all the neighbors who were visiting gathered around. They wove hot mats on a small loom using cotton loops, made friendship bracelets from embroidery floss, and Em showed them how to use the "Shrinky Dink" materials. The girls seemed to be delighted to have something to do with their hands and I think Mama joined in after we left.

We gave the boy a wooden airplane kit to construct, some marbles, and a plastic dart set. He was delighted. I think his favorite was the airplane. On questioning, I was told the boy was in kindergarten because there was no dedicated school in the refugee camp. That's a lot to catch up on.

Mama gave me a lovely black top with bright embroidery. She said her aunt had made it. They come from an area where the women are known for their weaving, done on back strap looms. I did not want to take the garment since they came here with so little. At the same time, I did not want to offend. I am not sure what I should have done in that situation. I decided to accept it graciously and I have displayed it with some informative materials in the church foyer.

The family lives a fair distance away, which makes it difficult to visit very often. There will, however, be other opportunities to help / interact, I am sure. I look forward to it.