Day 57

OK, OK....Dorothy was right. Actually, she was right without even saying a word. I could hear her...from 7,000 miles away saying "You have to write. You can't quit. You can't help yourself." OK, fine...she's right. She's always right. She knows me perfectly. That was proven today when I hung up the phone with her and went to get the mail...a care package from her. I only had a few requests for this one...my waist-pack to carry my water bottle for my long runs around base and some extra underwear. Yea...underwear. The long turnover here with laundry has made it difficult to keep clean laundry stocked in my room. Also in there were a can of cashews, a "photo mug" from Starbucks that I'm going to work on, some Wheat Thins, some baby wipes (it's dusty over here!), and two handwritten notes from Tin Man and Scarecrow. Those were awesome! Then the surprise...my finisher's award for two of my 100-mile trail races from 2009. Either she was cleaning up and was reducing the "clutter" (hiss!!) and/or she knew one sure way to lift my spirits. She knows how precious those two things are to me. If you ever run 100 miles...on the trails...without stopping....you'll understand. Before the mail, though, I had the chance for a "test drive."

The M-ATV..or MRAP All-terrain vehicle. MRAP stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicle. The M-ATV is the replacement for the humvee that so many people are familiar with. (very good link to check out and see this beast) The M-ATV was specifically designed for the current conflict and saving our lives. It's a huge vehicle made by OshKosh Defense out of Wisconsin. Without it being all "pimped" out, it has a price tag of nearly half a million dollars. Anyway, as part of our training weekend which started yesterday, we headed out to a safe area where we could drive and have a photo op with the whole team...quite a big team, actually. The photo here is me in the back seat looking out the tiny, ballistic glass window. For the whole group of photos, you'll need to be linked up with me on our favorite social network. :-) Afterwards, back to the office before a cookout for dinner. With everyone together for the weekend and even some who flew in, including our boss from down south, we decided to do it up right with grilled steaks and chicken. The smell of BBQ was nice. You really notice what you miss when you haven't been around it for awhile. The steak was awesome, the company was great, and it was nice to share a few laughs with new friends. After that, we held what is called a "Hail and Farewell." For the "hail" part, we welcome everyone who has shown up since the last get-together and tell a little bit about them. I was in that group. After that, we gave the "farewell" to those who are leaving soon along with some gifts of appreciation and awards. Our Marine colonel gave us a short motivational talk afterwards and we were done.  I have to say...all day, I couldn't get "A Few Good Men" out of my head. You remember Colonel Jessup, right? "You can't handle the truth!" guy?? Well, our colonel is obviously the same rank so the reason for quotes from the movie running through my head all day. "You WANT me on that wall...you NEED me on that wall...." Anyway...

Tonight, I uploaded some more pics, brewed some Tazo Passion Tea, popped some popcorn and relaxed. Oh yea, I blogged. Go figure. The day I say I'm taking a break is the day that I have plenty to say. :-) Well, at least I tried to take a break, right?

Goodnight, everyone.