ALL that is NOT NORMAL

Well, so far I'm starting to establish a daily pattern which helps the time go by quicker. Unfortunately, since I'm going to be moving from my wonderful tent and cot into a trailer soon...everything will soon become disrupted. Yesterday, I did buy a little piece of carpet for the area next to my cot. Talk about making a world of difference. It is so much nicer to put my little footsies down on carpet vice dirty plywood. I also bought a small fold-up camping chair. Again, much nicer to sit my rear-end down on a chair instead of the dirty plywood as aforementioned. Yes, I guess you could say, "It's the little things in life.". Now if I could only convince the military to invest in Charmin...I would truly be a happy man.

Anyways, in my last post I failed to mentioned a group of folks from Maine. On my trip to the sandbox, our flight landed in Bangor, Maine for a refueling stop. I personally have never been there...but first impressions mean alot. This place is phenomenal. When we walked off the plane, we were greeted by two rows of local folks. I would guess there were about 40 people present; just to say, "Thank you" and "We support you". It was absolutely amazing. Some were veterans of former wars...who I'm sure never received anything like this. Some were just local folks, who greeted us with a smile and a hug. Did I mention that they are there for every "troop transport" aircraft that lands in Bangor. The group calls themselves the "Maine Troop Greeters"....I like it...nothing fancy. These folks were great and really brightened everyone's spirits.

Bangor, Maine...you are now one of my favorite places. You made us feel good about a somewhat bleak situation. After thanking one of the gentlemen profusely and telling him, "I wish I could repay your hospitality." He looked at me and said, "Lieutenant Commander...you are repaying me with your service."

Enough Said.