Christmas in April

Yesterday I got my bikes and baggage back from Iraq--a footlocker, a duffel bag, my rucksack and two bike boxes.  The are both broken so tomorrow I will take the to Bike Line of Lancaster to get repaired.  I will leave at least one and maybe both in Philadelphia.  The bikes I took to Iraq are single speeds.  They are not great for Lancaster but good for Philadelphia where the city is flat. 

I have not completely unpacked, but it seems strange that I had all this stuff in Iraq.  I haven't seen it since November so I forgot what I packed for shipment home.

Friends Old and New

Today I spent five hours in the car driving to Fort Indiantown Gap at 6:45 am then to Philadelphia then back at 10:45 pm.  A very long day.

Those of you who believe one should not drive and talk on a cell phone should stop reading right now.

During the 300-odd minutes I was in the car, more than half on the PA Turnpike.  One the way to Philadelphia I called my Iraq "Roomie" Nickey Smith.  We talked for a half hour about how his life is going since his return and gossiped about some of the people in Echo we liked and some we didn't.  Nickey told me about getting sent to Oklahoma to reroute the gear for Connecticut soldiers.  He was one of two who went.  Others should have and did not. 

It did not surprise me at all that he would keep his word and trudge on when others did not.  I have written before that he took over for a squad leader who got relieved and unlike me and several others, stuck with his squad and with the motor pool when other sergeants jumped for greener pastures.  For his loyalty, Nickey got an average evaluation which the motor sergeant and motor officer knew was actually a rotten evaluation in a world where all evaluations are as highly inflated as inner tubes used for floating in a pond. 

Next time I drive to Boston, I am hoping to stop at his house and meet his family.  Who knows, his wife might be curious about the old white guy that her husband roomed with for most of a year.

On the way home, I called Abel Lopez, my best friend from back in the 70s in Germany.  We reminisced more than usual and talked about music the guys we served with listened to.  Abel reminded be that Gene Pierce listed over and over to his one Alice Cooper album (remember--this was back when cassette tapes were new technology!).  Everybody listened to Peter Frampton, "Do You Feel Like I Do."

We also talked about immigration.  Abel thinks it's a good idea to keep the gangs out, but he lives near the border in San Diego and knows that if California passes a law like Arizona, he and his family will be profiled.  Abe was born in San Diego, but his parents are both Mexican, so he, and especially his son, are likely to be hassled or swept up if profiling becomes legal.

Still More Welcome Home Pictures

Cheneen Nicholson-Carter and some of her family and friends

Major Hayes, SPC Broome, LTC Doud, and others

LTC Perry, MAJ Feddersen, Mrs. Feddersen

Perkins and Lake families

CSM Dell Christine

Soccer Tournament

Yesterday I took Nigel and Jacari to Lauren's Spring Soccer Tournament.  Juniata College played six other teams in half-hour games in a one-day tournament.  Lauren is one of two junior goalkeepers who will be playing their final season this fall.  The other is Kristen Penska.

The tournament, falling on Saturday, April 24, meant the soccer team could not attend the annual Juniata College Pig Roast.  So Kristen's father, David Penska, brought a roasted pig to the tournament.  It was carved, but the pig's head was left roasted and intact as the centerpiece for the serving table.  So we all had roast pig in the gym at Lebanon Valley College, site of the soccer tournament.

Thanks Dave!!!

Nigel, Jacari and Lauren after the tournament

The Juniata Women's Soccer Team plus Nigel and Jacari

The guest of honor

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me--I Won the News Quiz

I was the first contestant today on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" the NPR News Quiz.  You can listen on line here, but like most call-in guests, I don't say much.  This weeks comedian/panel is Tom Bodette, Paula Poundstone, and P.J. O'Rourke.  Jokes about Iceland went past me so fast I thought I could feel wind through the phone.

The three questions were very easy so I won the prize, Carl Castle's voice on my answering machine.  The producer I spoke with said you can have pretty much anything for a greeting.  I just have to write it out and Carl will record on a CD.  The best suggestion I have heard so far was from my wife who said the greeting could be:  "This is Carl Kasell from NPR News, Neil and I are out training for the Tour de France and can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message and one of us will get back to you."

But I have a few days before sending in my script.  If you have an idea for a greeting that tops Carl and I training for the Tour, let me know what it is.

Reality Day

Today I talked to two close friends today and had one of those reality checks only real friends will give you.  The first conversation was about racing, the second about writing. 

On the subject of riding, I am way behind in bicycle racing fitness.  I know it sounds cool that I rode 5000 miles in Iraq and a total of 7000 miles last year, but nearly all of it was what racers call "junk miles."  I rode to and from work on base.  I rode ten-mile laps around the base, but never pushed myself in the way that riding with other racers pushes me.

Anyway, I told my friend about having the PA Senior Games as my goal for the year and the National Senior Games as my goal for next year.  He thought that was a good plan.  Between the reduced amount of training I do compared to before deployment and the "year off" riding in Iraq, he was sure there was not much chance I would be competitive in licensed races anytime soon, maybe not for years if at all.  Comebacks are not easy at 57.

A few hours later I talked to a good friend who is an excellent writer.  I said. "Maybe I am wasting my time riding 10 or more hours a week to get back in shape when I have the opportunity to write a book."  He asked me what I could get from a book.  Clearly not money.  Every author I know personally writes for money to supplement their incomes.  Then he talked about audience.  He reminded me that the people who most admire what I did want me to stop talking whenever politics comes up.  And the people who agree with my politics think I am certifiable for going.  He's right of course. If I had a Big Idea, maybe, but for right now I just have a title and a lot of stories. 

Even More Pictures from the Welcome Home

Maj. Joel Allmandinger, battalion commander, Mechanicsburg Mens Club, event sponsor.

SPC Aaron Trimmer with his daughter

                                         SPC and Mrs Matias

Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the ceremony

Some members of the Family Readiness Group