I have been in the military since I was 17 years old. I have traveled to many places, and met some very interesting(and strange)people! I hope to tell you about some of those people & places, and a little about me.
I was sitting in the silence of the night, which was like so many others, slowly sipping my coffee. Out of the distance came TAPS, marking the 10 O’clock hour. The melancholy notes came flowing around me filling my mind with thoughts of the past and visions of the men who came before me. The things they had seen and experienced and what they had to overcome on the same soil I was standing on, just over half a century ago…
I looked into the old Korean woman’s eyes as she lifted her head from the pile of garlic she was peeling. She watched me as I walked by, and I wanted more than anything to sit down and ask her to tell me her story. What had those eyes (which seemed to hold the secrets of many years gone by) seen and what was she feeling when she looked at me. Was it what I feel when I hear TAPS? Did it make her think of her brothers who were in the war? Was she angry with me for being here? Did she want to ask me what I felt when I looked at her? Instead I left her still sitting there in silence, watching me watching her. She returned her attention to her task at hand. Her small wrinkled hands (which had most certainly seen hard labor since she was a young girl) moved quickly over the vast pile of garlic at her feet. I continued down the small, damp alleyway, which smelled of fish and garlic, with unanswered questions and a heavy heart. Back to TopA hot breeze began to blow that night, in the desert. Faint sounds of chanting were echoing in the distance, as I walked down the street. Eskan Village can be a very quiet place at night. Once the chanting stopped, all I could hear was the light clanking of my dog tags against my chest...
... It is an odd feeling, being an American in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps even somewhat distrubing, knowing that there were people right outside the gate (guarded by dogs and razor wire) that would kill you in an instant. An American (military) would be considered a "trophy" to some in that region. It is an entirely different world, but with its own beauty that is difficult to describe. The golden sunrises coming up over the unending desert horizon stay fresh in my memory, as do the haunting sounds of the chanting in the distance. The unfamilliar sounds make you feel as if you were walking in a dream, on the border of reality...
...But it was my reality for four months of my life. Every day was filled with things I had never seen before, and a culture I had never experienced. The Bazaars were an unforgetable experience in themselves...But that my friends,is for another night. (Good Night!)
Back to Top"A beautiful trinket for you?" The small man standing behind the table asked. "No thank you." I replied. "Please ma'am...you buy!" I saw the desperation in his eyes. I wondered how many nights he had spent pacing, wondering if he would be able to feed his family, and put clothes on their backs. Judging by the worn and tattered sandals he wore, one more night than any man should have to...
...The table was filled with small, delicate glass pieces. Some were tiny "genie lamps" others were pipes, all beautifully ornate. It was and endless sea of colors and shapes; all so delicate, it seemed they would break between your fingers. I bought three of them.
... As I walked through the Bazaar, each vendor pleaded for my business in various ways. The goods ranged from 24 Karat gold jewlrey, to camel whips. Some vendors tried to appear more "western" by selling cheap sunglasses, and imitation parfume. Most of the goods were hand-painted, hand made, or hand sewn. Of course, you could also buy a magic carpet...
..."A beautiful Saber, for a beautiful girl!" The man said as he handed the saber to me. It's handle was exquisite, with jewels and sculptured silver. He claimed that it was very old. "I give you a good price...because you have eyes like one of my wives." He paused and then continued,"You need to be one of my girlfreinds." I must have had a look of complete shock on my face, because he added "Do not worry, my other girlfriends will not mind." It was at that moment it hit me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore Toto...
Back to Top...It was an evening that has been burned into my memory for life. I can honestly say that there haven't been many things that have scared me in my life, but on this night... I was scared for my life...
...Not long after Hurricane George had ripped through Florida, I decided to go to the little park around the corner and do a little fishing. It had been a stressful day at work, and fishing seemed like the perfect thing to unwind...
...The day had started out like any other. I spent the morning cleaning out my aquarium, amazed at how much water had managed to evaporate in one week. Bryan and I decided to go to the pet store to get a couple more fish...
...I had found two nice fish that I wanted to buy, but the clerks were busy attending to a few rude shoppers. Just to pass some time we went into the back to look at the birds. We saw the most amazing thing!... ...As we were walking by a cage full of about twenty parakeets, a baby keet flew over to the side of the cage that we were on. It began to follow us! we walked around the large cage, and everywhere that we went that baby keet followed. I had never seen anything like it! I reached my hand over to the cage, expecting the bird to fly to the other side, terrified like all of the other birds were. It did not fly away! It bent it's little head down pratically begging for us to scratch it's head. I was afraid it was going to hurt itself trying to get out of its cage! Needless to say I couldn't leave without taking it home... ...We brought it home and it was so attached to us it was almost as if it had been our bird for years. We named him Indy. I have never seen a bird play like this little bird played (and my mother is a parakeet breeder)! We let him outside and he just had a ball playing with all of the leaves and picing up every little twig that was on the patio. We let him play for a couple of hours, and that he did!... ...Shortly after that I went in to take a shower. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Rheana" Bryan said, "You need to get out here qiuck!" I came out side and Bryan had little Indy in the palm of his hand. His body was limp and he couldn't hold up his own head. He was dying... ...It seems that sweet little Indy did not have the bottom half of his beak. Of course we did not notice this at the pet store. He possibly was born without it, or was mishandled at the pet store and it broke off. Whichever the case, the little bird had not eaten in quite some time. We tried to hand feed it, but without his bottom beak, the food would just run right out. I cried... ...I went into the bedroom with little Indy in the palm of my hands. Byran and I sat on the bed next to eachother in silence, petting him softly. Niether of us said it, but we understood that Indy was going to die very soon, and we would stay there with him the entire time... ...Just then I saw something that touched my soul. Indy's head lifted straight up and his wings completely outstretched as if he were going to fly straight into the sky! At that instant he was gone, and I burst into tears. I had actually felt in my hands the moment that he had gone, and his little body lay limp there once again... ...Never before had I thought about a bird having a soul. But I believe that I felt it. What I saw that evening was probably the most eye opening experience I've ever had... ...I had always believed that everything in my life happens for a reason. Be it for better or worse. I spend a good part of that evening tring to find the meaning of all of it. It seemed pretty rotten that I had fallen in love with this little bird, and six hours later he was lying in my hands. Then it dawned on me. How could I be so selfish to think that everything in my life happens to benefit me, or to make me stronger? As silly as it might sound to some people, who is to say that the reason that it all happened was so Indy could be happy for the last few hours of his life? To die in the hands of people who cared, instead of being found the next morning in the bottom of the cage by a pet store clerk; who would see it as just another mess to clean up... ...Of course, that made me think about the way I viewed my life. Everyone is aways wondering what their purpose in life is; and why things happen to them. Think about the fact that things that happen to you aren't really about you at all; but for the benefit of others. I believe that people have more than one purpose in life. It could be ten, it could be hundreds. Some may be greater than others, but all of them are important, to someone or something... Back to Top