Dawood Khan's Blog

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Jodie Meeks making History

In UK Basketball on December 22, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Making History

Making History

Jodie Meeks of Kentucky made 14 of 21 shots, including 9 of 14 3-pointers, and scored a career-high 46 points in the Wildcats’ 93-69 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday.

Said Meeks: “It is a good feeling to get 46 points. I give credit to my teammates for finding me. I didn’t know how many points I had until I made a free throw and had 38 points.”

His 46 points are the most by a Kentucky player since 1971.

I knew Jodie Meeks was going to be special at UK when I met his father right before they committed to Tubby Smith.   Jodie was on no one’s radar to be a Collegiate SuperStar.  If he keeps going at this level, he’ll be in rare air.  Up there with the Kentucky Greats.  Issel, Walker and the like.  The first star of the Gillispie era.

Congrats to the young man on a stellar game and keeping his head on straight all the while.

Mr. and Mrs. Meeks are rightfully proud.  What an excellent young man.

Rock on Wildcats!

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in the middle of Afghanistan–BIG BLUE

In Afghanistan, Cambodia, Music, UK Basketball on December 18, 2008 at 11:53 pm

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So I’m standing outside the Regional Police HQ in Herat.  Waiting to head back to base.  We’re smoking and joking with the Afghan Police who are heading out to lunch.  When up walks this guy:

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And to my surprise…DUDE HAS A KENTUCKY WILDCATS hat on his head.  One of those old tobagons (presently called a beanie)  from the 70s or 80s.

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Couldn’t help myself.  I started laughing and told the guy that he had to stop and take a photo with me.  I tried to get my terp to get the words in the pic.  If you look closely, you can make it out.  “Kentucky Wildcats”

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We posed for the pic and I thanked him.  And laughed all the way home about the incident.

The hat must have been a donation from some Kentucky fan and found it’s way to the Humanitarian Aid program heading to Afghanistan.

Crazy…

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Merry Christmas from the Family

In Holidays on December 16, 2008 at 5:52 pm

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Iraq: Bush makes final Presidential visit.

In Middle East, Politics on December 14, 2008 at 11:12 pm
  • DECEMBER 14, 2008, 11:03 A.M. ET

Bush Makes Surprise Trip to Iraq

BAGHDAD — On a farewell trip to Iraq, President George W. Bush said Sunday the war has been hard but was necessary to protect the U.S. and give Iraqis hope for a peaceful future.

Mr. Bush visited the Iraqi capital just 37 days before he hands the war off to President-elect Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it. At the end of nearly two hours of meetings at an ornate, marble-floored palace along the shores of the Tigris River, Mr. Bush defended the war, now in its sixth year.

[President Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani] Associated Press

President George W. Bush walks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani after arriving for a surprise visit to the country.

“The work hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace,” the president said. “I’m just so grateful I had the chance to come back to Iraq before my presidency ends.”

But in many ways, the unannounced trip was a victory lap without a victory. Nearly 150,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq fighting a war that is remarkably unpopular in the United States and across the globe. More than 4,209 members of the U.S. military have died and the war has cost U.S. taxpayers $576 billion since it began five years and nine months ago.

After an arrival ceremony, Mr. Bush began a rapid-fire series of meetings with top Iraqi leaders. The president wanted to highlight a drop in violence in a nation still riven by ethnic strife and to celebrate a recent U.S.-Iraq security agreement, which calls for U.S. troops to withdraw by the end of 2011.

Air Force One landed at Baghdad International Airport in the afternoon local time after a secretive Saturday night departure from Washington. In a sign of security gains in this war zone, Mr. Bush received a formal arrival ceremony — a flourish absent in his three earlier trips.

Referring to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, seated beside him, and the country’s two vice presidents, mr. Bush said: “I’ve known these men for a long time, and I’ve come to admire them for their courage and their determination to succeed.”

Mr. Bush’s meetings at the palace were held as the sun set outside and darkness fell over Baghdad. Mr. Talabani called Mr. Bush “our great friend,” who “helped to liberate” Iraq. “Thanks to him and his courageous leadership, we are here,” Mr. Talabani said.

Mr. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki planned a ceremonial signing of the security agreement — a “remarkable document,” according to Mr. Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley. He said the pact was unique in the Arab world because it was publicly debated, discussed and adopted by an elected parliament.

Mr. Hadley said the trip proved that the U.S.-Iraq relationship was changing “with Iraqis rightfully exercising greater sovereignty” and the U.S. “in an increasingly subordinate role.”

more

The year is 2018.  Iraq is a viable and peaceful nation.  An upstanding member of the United Nations.  Their economy is humming.  They are cracking down on extremism.  Law and order is the rule of the day.  They are aiding in the effort to bring peace to the Middle East.

If such a future comes to pass, will anyone admit that Bush was right for invading Iraq?

I think the Left will do everything in their power to credit Barack Obama.  He will deserve credit.  But if it happens, the architect of that future is George Bush.

I don’t know if such a future is in the offing.  No one does.  Iraq could go either way or end up somewhere in the middle of the chaos and anarchy predicted by the doom and glooming left and the bright and sunny picture of peace and prosperity that Neo-Cons try to push as the most certain future.

I’ll hope for a peaceful future for the people of Iraq.  After a century and more of Ottoman rule followed by decades of Colonialism and the more immediate past decades of terror at the hands of the madman Saddam Hussein, these folks are due a bit of peace and prosperity.

Salaam…

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Holiday in Cambodia –Dead Kennedys

In Cambodia, Music, thinking out loud on December 14, 2008 at 1:44 am

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So you been to school
For a year or two
And you know you’ve seen it all
In daddy’s car
Thinkin’ you’ll go far
Back east your type don’t crawl

Play ethnicky jazz
To parade your snazz
On your five grand stereo
Braggin’ that you know
How the niggers feel cold
And the slums got so much soul

It’s time to taste what you most fear
Right Guard will not help you here
Brace yourself, my dear…
Brace yourself, my dear…

It’s a holiday in Cambodia
It’s tough, kid, but it’s life
It’s a holiday in Cambodia
Don’t forget to pack a wife

You’re a star-belly sneech
You suck like a leach
You want everyone to act like you
Kiss a*s while you b*tch
So you can get rich
But your boss gets richer off you

Well you’ll work harder
With a GUN in your back
For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers
Till you starve
Then your head is skewered on a stake

Now you can go where people are one
Now you can go where they get things done
What you need, my son…
What you need, my son…

Is a holiday in Cambodia
Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia
Where you’ll kiss a*s or crack

Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot,
Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot, Pol Pot…

And it’s a holiday in Cambodia
Where you’ll do what you’re told
A holiday in Cambodia
Where the slums got so much soul

Pol Pot!

“Holiday in Cambodia” was the second single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with “Police Truck” as the b-side. The title track was re-recorded for the band’s first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980), and the version that appeared on this single, as well as the single’s b-side, are available on the rarities album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987). The cover picture of the single is taken from the 6 October 1976 Massacre in Thailand, and depicts a member of the rightist crowd beating the corpse of a student protester with a metal chair.

The song attacks both Eastern totalitarianism, Western complacency and the direct relation between the two through American military intervention. The song’s lyrics offer a satirical view of young, self-righteous Americans (So you been to school/For a year or two/And you know you’ve seen it all/In daddy’s car/Thinkin’ you’ll go far…) and contrast such a lifestyle with a brutal depiction of the Pol Pot regime of Cambodia (Well you’ll work harder/With a gun in your back/For a bowl of rice a day/Slave for soldiers/Till you starve/Then your head is skewered on a stake).

The version of this song that appears on Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is slightly different from the single version, being fifty-five seconds longer and featuring an extended guitar noise intro as well as an extended psychedelic solo.

In October 1998, Biafra was sued by former members of the Dead Kennedys. According to Biafra, the suit was a result of his refusal to allow “Holiday in Cambodia” to be used in a commercial for Levi’s Dockers; Biafra opposes Levi’s due to what he believes are their unfair business practices and sweatshop labor. However, the other members claimed that their royalties had been defrauded. “The record industry has been skimming royalties owed artists since the beginning,” according to Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. “This case is no different from blues musicians being taken advantage of in the twenties and thirties. Many people doubted the claims we made against our former record label back in 1998 but with this announcement there is no denying we were the victims here.” Record Label Drops Legal Action

The song was covered by straight edge hardcore/metal band Earth Crisis on their 2001 covers album The Last of the Sane. It was previously covered by the California-based thrash metal band Lääz Rockit, appearing on their 1989 album Annihilation Principle. Also, the band Boy Sets Fire has covered it on their 1998 album, In Chrysalis.

R&B parodist Blowfly is set to release his own version of “Holiday in Cambodia”, renamed “R. Kelly In Cambodia”, for his forthcoming album Blowfly’s Punk Party. It has also been parodied by spoof lounge artist Richard Cheese, who croons Biafra’s angry, cutting lyrics in a Frank Sinatra-like voice. An instrumental version of “Holiday in Cambodia” also appears on Bay Area-pianist DJ Liebowitz’s Beware the Piano. The disc Tercer asalto by the Spanish group Def Con Dos features Veraneo en Puerto Hurraco including the line ¿Vacaciones en Camboya? ¡y una polla! (“Holidays in Cambodia? Fuck off!”).

This song is a classic.

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Why are people fascinated by Camels?

In Afghanistan on December 14, 2008 at 1:18 am

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That one was a Democrat…

In thinking out loud on December 13, 2008 at 3:06 am

A woman married three times walked into a bridal shop one day and told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her fourth wedding.

‘Of course, madam,’ replied the sales clerk, ‘exactly what type and color dress are you looking for?’

The bride to be said: ‘A long frilly white dress with a veil.’

The sales clerk hesitated a bit, then said, ‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate for brides who are being married the first time – for those who are a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean? Perhaps ivory or sky blue would be nice?’

‘Well,’ replied the customer, a little peeved at the clerk’s directness, ‘I can assure you that a white gown would be quite appropriate. Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain as innocent as a first-time bride. You see, my first husband was so excited about our wedding, he died as we were checking into our hotel. My second husband and I got into such a terrible fight in the limo on our way to our honeymoon that we had that wedding annulled immediately and never spoke to each other again.’

‘What about your third husband?’ asked the sales clerk.

‘That one was a Democrat,’ said the woman, ‘and every night for four years, he just sat on the edge of the bed and told me how good it was going to be, but nothing ever happened.’

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Is Life Sacred?

In thinking out loud on December 13, 2008 at 2:38 am

I don’t think that life is sacred. Individuals and even societies can make life sacred in accordance with their actions. Mostly, though, we give lip service to this concept that life is sacred. History has shown that it is naught but empty words. What occurred during the course of the 20th Century and what is occurring now in the nascent 21st that lends any credence to the belief that any of us truly believe that life is sacred.

Was the life of Hitler sacred. Mao? Stalin? Churchill? Hirohito? Osama bin Laden? George Bush? Ronald Reagan? Lincoln? Saladin? Gandhi? Muhammad Ali of Egypt? al Wahhab of the Nejd? Abdur Rahman of Kabul? Mother Theresa? Yassar Arafat? Ayatollah al Sistani? Khomeini? Charles Manson? Jack the Ripper? Charles Bundi? Saddam Hussein?

Were all of these lives sacred? Whose life is sacred and who decides this? Me? The President of the United States? The Secretary General of the UN? The Mufti of Jerusalem? Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin?

None of our political or economic creeds support this concept. Religions pay lip service to it. The UN Charter pays lip service to it but I dare say that Jewish life isn’t sacred to many who sit around the table of the UN.   Certainly not to a majority of the Muslims of the Middle East.  Islam does not find life sacred. It is more an honor to be shaheed than to be a law abiding lover of life and liberty.

Humans act for self preservation specifically and preservation of the species in general. We do so as individuals, though. Not as groups. As Civilization, we mostly murder each other in the name of humanity or religion or power or greed.

So it has been since the earliest records of our actions. So it will be until humans are no more.

I see no evidence that life is truly sacred to any but a handful of people who have no power to make the value universal.

Such is my belief.

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Kentucky Player Hitting Big in the NFL

In UK Football on December 13, 2008 at 1:04 am

Undersized Woodyard having a big impact

UK product leads Broncos’ defense

http://www.nfldraftdog.com/images/Wesley%20Woodyard.jpg

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos were about to go down for the count when rocket-armed quarterback Jay Cutler came to the rescue along with a most unlikely sidekick — an undrafted, undersized and largely unknown rookie linebacker named Wesley Woodyard.

Things looked bleak for the Broncos when D. J. Williams, fresh off signing a $32 million, six-year contract that solidified his standing as Denver’s defensive leader, went down with a knee injury on Nov. 2.

The bungling Broncos were sitting ugly at 4-4 with a three-game losing streak.

Denver, which had already lost strongside linebacker Boss Bailey for the year and would lose middle linebacker Nate Webster the following week, turned to a free agent from the University of Kentucky who is generously listed at 230 pounds and was ignored in the draft because he’s too small.

Or so everybody thought.

During Williams’ absence, the 6-foot-1 Woodyard has had 50 tackles in his five starts on the weak side, leading Denver (8-5) to the brink of a playoff berth.

“I play with about 10 or 20 chips on my shoulder,” Woodyard said. “I’ve always been looked at as a little guy. I’ve always been small since I was little, so I’m used to playing bigger than I really am.”

Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme, whose Panthers (10-3) host the Broncos on Sunday, said he’s impressed with Denver’s entire makeshift defense — but one guy stands out above the rest.

“I’ll tell you what, the more film you watch … Woodyard keeps on making plays, especially the last couple of weeks,” Delhomme said.

Two weeks ago, Woodyard had 13 tackles, 11 of them solo, and forced a fumble by Brett Favre in Denver’s win over the Jets. Against Kansas City last week, he led the team with eight solo tackles and broke up a pass in another crucial win.

“Wesley’s one of those things you call a diamond in the rough,” teammate Kenny Peterson said. “He’s 200-what?”

Two hundred thirty.

“Oh?” Peterson said. “I was going to say 210 soaking wet with two jogging suits on.

“But he hits like a 280-pound guy.”

Williams is inching his way back to health, and that begs the question: How can the Broncos possibly take Woodyard out of the lineup when Williams returns?

“Yeah, he’s a playmaker,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “We’ll try to keep him out there as much as we can. He’s fun to watch, both on defense and special teams.”

One possibility is keeping Woodyard where he is and moving Williams back to the middle. Woodyard said he’s ready for a reduced role if that’s what it comes to.

“D. J.’s the captain of our defense. You’ve got to give all respect to him. I’m ready to accept my role on the team like I did in the preseason,” Woodyard said.

The way Woodyard sees it, the more depth at his position, the better.

“Once we get D. J. back, we’re going to have a lot more playmakers on our team,” he said. “I’m just going to earn my respect every week from the guys on the team and the guys in the NFL.”

The NFL may be surprised.

There isn’t one person associated with UK Football who is though.  Nor is there a fan out there who is surprised by the success of Wesley Woodyard.

My only surprise was when he went un-drafted.  Too many scouts relying on internet reports and brand name instead of actually earning their pay.  Nothing new there.   I suppose that’s not really all that surprising.

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Views from an uparmored HMMVW

In Afghanistan, culture on December 12, 2008 at 10:40 pm

I go out on the road a few times a week.  Often times, I”ll bring along my camera.  Just in case there is a good photo opportunity waiting for me out there.

It’s amazing to me that the majority of Afghanistan lives their lives out in mud structures like the one pictured below. So different these people are from the place that I was raised.  I often think about my childhood and think that we were poor.  By comparison, we were wealthy.  These folks have next to nothing.  If they have two suits of clothing to wear, they are considered wealthy.  Most wear the same clothes until they are too ragged to wear.  Likewise, even those who have more than one set of clothing will wear the same clothes all week.  Alternating between outfits each Saturday.  In the cities, there are more affluent folks.  Some even on a Western scale.  After all, Agha Khan is from Afghanistan.  He is one of  the wealthiest men on the planet.

There are very few modern road systems in Afghanistan.   Most of these roads and most of this place is little different from when Alexander the Great conquered the region.  The city nearest to me was destroyed by Alexandrian forces after it rebelled.

It is exceedingly difficult to take pictures from the back of an uparmored Hummer.  Two inch thick windows that measures one foot by one foot.  But I offer these for your perusal.

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30 Rock is Brilliant!

In culture on December 8, 2008 at 5:16 pm

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It’s one of the best shows on TV.  It’s a bit lefty for those of you who can’t take opposing views.  Right wingers may want to keep away from it.  But the show hits so many points on a weekly basis and there are so many laugh out loud moments that I’m constantly cackling when watching the show.

Tina Fey is a genius.  Alec Baldwins character Jack Donaughey is a riot.

http://remote.lohudblogs.com/files/2007/04/30-rock3.JPG

30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that currently airs on the NBC network in the United States. The series takes place behind-the-scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name “30 Rock” refers to the GE Building where NBC Studios is located and which has the address “30 Rockefeller Plaza.”.[1] The series has an ensemble cast which currently consists of ten regular cast members, including Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander and Alec Baldwin.[2]

The pilot episode first aired on October 11, 2006,[3] and the first season was comprised of 21 episodes.[4] The second season, which premiered on October 4, 2007,[5] was originally intended to contain 22 episodes,[6] but was abbreviated to 15 episodes because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[7][8] A third season, which is expected to contain 22 episodes, premiered on October 30, 2008.[9][10][11]

The series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBC Universal.[2] The current executive producers are Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Marci Klein, David Miner and Robert Carlock.[2] 30 Rock is produced in a single camera setup[12] and is primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York,[13] with some scenes are filmed on location at Rockefeller Center.[14]

30 Rock has been a critical success, winning several major awards including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series both in 2007 and 2008,[15][16] the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series,[17] the Producers Guild of America Award for Producer of the Year in Episodic Comedy Series,[18] and a Peabody Award,[19] as well as achieving the top ranking on a myriad of critics’ year-end best of 2006 and 2007 lists.[2] Despite these accolades, the series averaged a low 5.8 million viewers in the United States during its first season, according to the Nielsen Ratings system, and ranked 102 out of 142 television series.[20]

I’ve watched each episode at least twice.   Hopefully, the show maintains it’s creative streak and stays on air for many seasons to come.  Brilliant satire.  Brilliant.

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World War II: Scenes from the War in the Pacific

In Military, Politics on December 3, 2008 at 7:34 am

Some of these are fairly gruesome.  I’m pretty sure one is the Luzon landing.  Some are from the battles in the Philippines.  I think some of it is from mainland Japan.

These are the last of the pics from Grandpa Les.

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Angkor and Siem Reap: The American Guide

In Cambodia on December 3, 2008 at 12:12 am

I had been planning and putting off going to Laos since 2005.  I’d even booked a flight boarded a plane and been diverted by a cyclone.  Wound up going to Chiang Mai instead on that trip. This trip.  I hadn’t intended to go into Laos.  My intent was to stay in Cambodia a bit longer and travel upriver to Battambang and see a bit of the countryside away from the usual tourist chatter. This time, though, I decided that it was time.  I’d waited long enough for Laos and Avin decided to go with me.  But first, Angkor…

Amy, Rey and me at Bayon Temple

On my last holiday (July 2008), I had come to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh and two of my friends from the capital city had come up with me so that I could give them a tour of the Angkor temples.  A bit of a twist there.  An American giving Cambodians a tour of their own cultural treasures.  I’ve been there 6 or 7 times by now.  So I guess I know them as well as anyone.  I’ve almost seen all of the temples around Siem Reap. On these next few trips, I plan on branching out a little further and seeing some of the sites near the Thai border.  But that’s for the future.  Amy, Rey and I toured the temples.  I took them to all of the major sites.  Angkor Wat.  Bayon.  Ta Prohm.  Bakoung.  The Elephant Terrace.  The Leper King.  By that time, the unrelenting Cambodian sun had taken it’s toll.  We returned to our hotel to rest during the heat of mid-day. During the summer months of Cambodia, you have to get out of the heat at mid-day.  That sun will cook you.  I’ve stayed out in it.  But I’ve not many Cambodians who will endure it for long by choice.  I like being out at this time because there are fewer tourists out at this time.  I can be alone in the temples.  Get great pics.  Take my time.  Afterward, we went to the Temple Club.  We watched the Apsara Dance Show and had a few drinks.

The funny part of this night came after we left the Temple Club and it’s Apsara.  We walked up Pub Street to a rooftop bar at the end of the street.  Before we went up, I noticed neon lights a little further down the street.  I asked the girls if they wanted to check it out.  They agreed to come along.  When we got inside, it turned out that the bar was a Khmer version of a strip club.  No  nudity.  But dancers on a stage in skimpy outfits.  These girls were acrobatic.  I don’t think any American girls could compete with the way these girls dance.  I sat down and ordered a drink for myself.  Amy and Rey ordered a beer.  I looked around a bit uncomfortable.  Not for myself, though.  I was fine in there.  More than fine.

I need not have worried.  Amy and Rey loved the place.  They danced to the music.  They talked about the girls.  Asking me which was sexiest and prettiest.  Compared the dancing.  They applauded at the end of each dance.  We sat there and carried on and had fun.  A little later, we invited our favorite over for a drink.  I was thinking the girl would have a beer or a whiskey and coke.  She ordered a Soy Milk.  I almost fell over laughing.

It was an interesting trip.

The girls left the next day and I met Avin…

That’s another story.

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A bit of reflection on the eve of my 40th Life Anniversary

In Travel on December 2, 2008 at 9:36 pm

At the end of a life, I suppose a person stops and looks back.  What does he see.  What does one wish to see at the end of a life.

I wonder.  I don’t know why I do.  But I do.

I sat here tonight looking back at my own life.  I’ve been fortunate.  Might be an understatement.  I’ve traveled across the globe.  Experienced wondrous events.  Met incredible and sometimes amazing people.  Seen and touched some of the wonders of the World.  I’ve tread upon 4 Continents.  Danced in some of the nicest clubs across the planet with some of the most beautiful women in the world.  I’ve climbed the Great Wall.  Gazed in wonder at the Taj Mahal.  I’ve seen the carnage of war and the peace in it’s aftermath.  I’ve been fortunate enough to aid in rebuilding a country ravaged by war.

I’ve fallen in love and been stung by love.  I’ve been married and divorced.  I’ve met women who I probably should have married and dated women from whom I should probably have run.  haha  I was married to an awesome lady.  I left the marriage because I was a foolish child.  Still am.  Kelly was a great wife.  Great person.  She still encourages me.  Still befriends me.  Holds no grudge even though she has every right in the world to it.  She is simply an awesome person.  These are the people who have been in my life.  So many great people.

I’ve a wonderful family who loves me.  My Mother and Sister who love me completely unconditionally.  Two bros who, though they get wrapped up in their own lives and forget about me (LOL), love me despite the maddening smart ass that I can be.  A step-Father who I grew to love as a Father.  No step needed.  My Grandparents.  Only one left to me now.  All wonderful.  All treasures.  And an extended family who keeps me in their prayers even if I am a heathen pagan heretic.

The places I’ve visited and explored.  Saigon, Hanou, Siem Reap, Bangkok, Frankfurt and Paris, the Grand Canyon and the temples of Angkor.

I’ve traveled on the Silk Road and spent days, weeks and months in the Kingdom of Siam.

I’ve driven alone through Kabul and flown through the Hindu Kush.  I’ve entered the city of Herat and been fortunate enough to see it’s most wondrous monument.  The Masjid Jam-e.

Kuwait with it’s towers and golden monuments.  Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

I rode a camel to the Pyramids and actually climbed the Great Pyramid.  I’ve gazed upon the Sphinx and the numerous pyramids both famous and obscure–the Red Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, the Ziggurat of Sakkara.  Climbed Mount Sinai.

I’ve swam the Rio Chagre and explored ancient Spanish forts in Central America.

I’ve even spent a bit of time in jail cells on 4 different continents.  Dubai, Egypt, Germany, the US and Korea.  haha

And more…

Who could do such things and then complain about one’s lot in life.  I couldn’t take myself seriously if I found myself complaining about this life.  What a fool I’d be.  Not that I take myself all that seriously at anyrate.

I’m the fool on the hill.  Running through life madly.  Enjoying it all the way.  it’s a blessing as I see and experience it.

I’ve met wonderful people along the way.  My good friend Becca.  My oldest friend Bruce Taylor with whom I played as a wee toddler in times that I barely remember.  My cousin Carl who for some reason beyond comprehension is a Louisville Cardinal fan.  I’ve forgiven him that slip.  Rick.  My Wildcat brother.  Justin from my Old Guard days.  Rob and Joe and Pete and Conrad Sweeney with whom I conquered Tel Aviv in ’98.  Can’t forget thin man.  My good buddy Paul.  Big Will.  MSG Keys.  Even the crazy, silly Lyshia.

I’ve even been fortunate enough to get on well with my workmates.  Some of whom are a bit looney.  But decent folks all.

Where would I be today without Rick, Katrina and Dorian.  Valentina my buddy from Kosovo and Shawn and Jay.

All of the good Army folks whom I’ve met in my days at KBR and ManTech.

Roop from AECOM.  A girl with whom I said naught but boo until my last day and befriended through the magic of this blog and the ideas and beliefs expressed hereon.

My Indian friends like Satheesan, Sandeep, Kumar, Tanzeem, Rajeev.  If you never have the chance to work with Indian chaps, you’re missing something special.  It’s like coming to a new family.

Speak of Tel Aviv and I always remember Galit Kabra and Mali Kiasi.  Two very different women.  But both beautiful and extraordinary.  All Israelis serve in the military.  All of them risk their lives in the face of the fascist Palestinian terror goons.  I don’t know if Galit is even alive.  We kept in touch until suddenly she stopped responding.  Her responses stopped soon after an explosion in a Mall that she and I frequented.  I have no idea if she was there or if the halt in communication was simply coincidence.  I prefer to think that she is still alive and well.

Presently, I find myself in Afghanistan.  I’m doing a piece of work here that will assist in re-establishing Afghanistan as a nation.  If the people of Afghanistan decide that they want it bad enough.  Sometimes working with Afghanis and getting them working towards a common goal is a bit like herding cats.  Near impossible.  So many agendas.  But it’s challenge.

This job affords me the opportunity to work directly with the people of Afghansitan.  I get to see them in their own world.  Their culture at work.  The religion.  The tribes.  The good and the bad.  It’s an amazing opportunity.

I don’t know what I will do when I leave Afghanistan.  I don’t even know when I will leave.  Sometimes, I think about doing some NGO work in impoverished nations of the non-developed world.  Pre-industrial communities.  Spend some time in Cambodia or Vietnam working with villagers to bring some modernization to their world.  A great part of the world lives in conditions that I would liken to the 1800s in the Wild West of the United States.  Running water and electricity is non-existent.  Basic living conditions.  Mud huts.  Wooden stilt houses.

Perhaps, I’ll see if I can do something to help them for a while.

Perhaps, I’ll go home to America and enjoy my family and some good old Kentucky Basketball.

I don’t know.

I may not make it home.  Anything can happen.  Whatever does, I don’t regret a moment of the life that I’ve lived.  Not a second.  There’s more to come.  I’m sure of it.

Thank the Gods for my many life blessing.  It’s been an extraordinary life thus far.

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