Not Superstitious But…

this is the news article I just read:

"In Kirkuk, police sources said they were hot on the trail of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant who has claimed responsibility for many of the worst attacks in Iraq.
(link: http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/default.jsp)"

Very Interesting! So the main bad-guy has moved to our peaceful location, so it would seem. Yes the 13th. Now I will ask this question: Bad news for who? Stay tuned…(this is HOPE, I hope, more than pride, speaking) It may be the UT/Idaho boys come through again, like in the last article I sent you--wouldn't that be cool! Wow. Big bad boy right here in our neck of the woods.
The forecast had called for snow last week but all we saw was some serious rain, a little hail, and frozen water on the ground. And I’m still walking the 100 feet to the showers in a bathrobe. When you step in one of those cold pools of water and it sloshes over your flip-flops? What a sensation! And the walk back from the showers is a thrill when one is all damp. But I’m getting used to it. Got to enjoy it while it lasts.
Which brings me to the pictures. 40 miles north and east of here, they did get snow, and lots of it! This convoy went through it and had to stop because some wipers stopped working. The second pic is the gunner in the turret. You cans see the beige walls around him. Those are some of the things we bolt on, can you imagine going out without that protection? You can also see how exposed they are to the elements and they stay out for several hours. Up there with the wind-chill from driving??? I’ll take the walk from the showers any day! Gotta love these guys. I love ‘em so much they all seem like Mormons (brothers) to me. ANYWAY
Pic number three. Ah, yes! Pic number 3 calls to me. Those are the typical of the snow-covered mountains I’ve seen from a distance on clear days. They call out to me, in a whisper they say "Come snowboard, come snowboard" and the whisper blends and fades with the wavering whistling of the wind…can you almost hear it yourself?
Well, this week I get my first R&R--rest and recuperate or something like that, it’s another military acronym, of which there are approximately MILLIONS! We’re supposed to take them every three months; vacations, not acronyms. But I’ve been out 5 ½ months now, lest some of you think I have it too good. I’m off to Germany for the 1st time in, can you believe this, 17 years! Yup, came back from my mission in ‘88. Snowboarding is on the agenda. I will visit a few of "my cities" for old times sake but I want to hit the South, the mountains, the Black Forest, places I couldn’t go while in the Frankfurt Mission, (which was the middle third of West Germany, back before the wall came down). The North is flat and has the docks, much industry. The middle third has rolling hills, castles, rivers, and government. The lower third turns into mountains with more castles, Black Forest, and Oktober Fest; the Germany that Americans visualize when they go on vacation. That would be me.
I don’t really have a plan for every day, I’m going to hook up with the church on Sunday and take it from there. Kind of like Nephi, going, not knowing before hand the things which I will do. Yeah, I’m hoping The Spirit has a relationship with the spirit of fun. Those are good things, right? But the church, as well as being, well, TRUE, is a great network of brothers and sisters, family. Hopefully, some of them are single and cute and know where the parties are. Hey, why not? J
OK, that’s it for now. Unfortunately I was not able to chat with my connection at church here and get the latest from outside the wire, but I hope to catch him before I leave Thursday and we’ll see if we can get a report. I’ve also finally found a warm lead for Operation Crayon, that makes me happy. I will be checking on that.
Ciao for now and happy Sabbath! Mine is great so far.