Day 120

120 is a nice round number, isn't it? That's a good solid 4 months DONE. I left "Kansas" on a Sunday, too, so yea...definitely 4 months gone. I'll tell you straight up...I didn't dive into my sorrowful abyss today which happens on many, many Sundays. After I wrote last night's blog, I downloaded Skype to my new MacBook Pro that arrived last week and amazingly, it works inside my room with a very week WiFi signal that I created. So, I talked to my girls for a bit and saw them (AWESOME!!) then spent some time alone with "Dorothy." She totally doesn't get it, but I could just sit there or lay there and just stare at her for hours on end. We ran out of things to talk about so we ended up saying goodbye but I would've been perfectly fine with just spending time with her...silent or not. So that was a great way to end yesterday. It kept me up past midnight but it was well worth it.

This morning, I woke up at normal time, intent on working until around lunch then getting out of there. I was actually very busy all morning but around 1pm, I left. It was 97F today so I went straight back to my CHU where it was nice and cool and crawled into bed. Not too long after that, my youngest brother and his family called on Skype so I got to see all of them and talk for awhile. He just ran his longest ever (19 miles) trail run yesterday, too. He'll be running his first 50K on September 17th at one of my all time favorite races..in a Navy PT shirt! Pretty cool, I'd say. After that, I dozed off for an hour or two..who knows how long, then awoke to just lay there and watch some TV. As I noticed the sun was beginning to set and temperature begin to drop, I got my running gear on, complete with clear, ballistic glasses and neck gaiter pulled up to my eyeballs to keep all the crud out of my lungs and eyes. Have I mentioned I strongly dislike running here? I despise it but not as much as I despise the treadmill so outside it is. My shoes are now way beyond trashed and feel now like they're minimalist shoes. To my fortune, though, Dorothy mailed me a care package last week with a used pair of Brooks Glycerins from out of my garage. I have a brand new pair of Brooks at home but there is no way I'm wearing them out here. No shoe run in here should ever leave this place. The dust and filth simply destroys them...way worse than any trail mud I've ever run in.

Tonight on my perimeter run, I was mentally consumed by my fellow sailors, Navy SEALs who were killed two nights ago as they returned from a mission, about a 30 minute helo ride south of my location. I ended up dedicating tonight's run to them as I ran with Mr. Moon. I couldn't stop thinking about the Fallen Comrade Ceremony that will soon happen here. 30 metal caskets...30 American Flags...and 8 soldiers per casket to carry each one aboard an Air Force C-17.  While I was in the office today, I exchanged some e-mails with an Army medical officer who was involved with Mortuary Affairs here on base. I once again volunteered myself to do anything at anytime for the Fallen. I won't be called, though...there is a HUGE outpouring of support here on the base for these heroes and I'm just not in the mix for being able to be a part. I really wish I could, though. Anyway, as I ran around the base, I was planning to stop in at the office again to check a few things online and had a post that was running through my head, over and over and over again...sort of a tribute to them. So, I quickly logged on to my Facebook account and posted the following:

"I am proud to be a U.S. Navy sailor. From E-1 to O-10, we stand as one when we lose our own. From deckplate sailors to engineers, to doctors, to mechanics, to pilots, and to Navy SEALs...we mourn together but even greater, we celebrate the Fallen's lives and heroic service and sacrifice to our country."

It really is true, isn't it? Shouldn't we celebrate them and all they did for our country? I think we should. We should mourn, too but it should be followed by celebrating their lives. They took the fight to the nastiest parts of the enemy where no one else on the planet will go. They were/are our country's finest and most elite fighting force. America: we lost so much on that downed Chinook. Can't we just leave the credit rating and stock market out of the news for just a day or two? Can we not get our priorities in line, even in a time like this?

I got back on the road, still consumed by their loss and thought again to the movie, Taking Chance. If you have not seen it, I am asking you...no, I am begging you to find it and rent it/buy it and watch it. Watch it as a family, too. There is nothing in it that a child cannot see. We watched it when my girls were 6 and 8 and I've watched it several more times. It is the true story of a Marine officer who escorts a fallen Marine home, starting at Dover Air Force Base. Dover is where these Fallen will go in the next few days. As I type this now, many of the Fallen's families are packing their things to go there. (the military flies the Next of Kin to Dover for free if they want to go) Back a few years ago, the military opened it up for families to witness their loved ones brought off the C-17, very ceremoniously before they are prepared for their journey home. The movie, in my opinion, is one that every single American should see. You will be forever changed, I promise you. Most of you live near a RedBox...check there. We found it there last year. Please watch it. There's another reason I thought about this movie tonight again. On my run, I always pass this diagonal road that has this little, homemade sign at the entrance that reads "Mortuary Affairs." Down that road only a few hundred yards are the Fallen Heroes that the world is talking about right now, being prepared to go home. Man, it was just overwhelming...the shear number of them....30 of our nation's finest. From what I am hearing now...22 are Navy SEALs, 8 are Marines and/or Army, and even a Navy SEAL dog was lost. Also killed was an Afghan interpreter and 7 Afghan soldiers.

Back in my room, I showered and made up a Mac-n-Cheese that a friend had sent me as well as a Larabar...and here I am. Today, I also received my re-deployment orders. In plain English, that means I received my GOING HOME orders! I'm still a good ways out from leaving but it's nice to know a key piece of the puzzle to putting me back on that Yellow Brick Road is in place. It's kinda like moving the jetway at the airport up to the plane so folks can get on or off. It's just that the plane isn't leaving anytime soon! Awesome to have in my grubby paws. With that, folks...I bid you all farewell and a great new week. If by chance our Fallen prompted you to fly Old Glory...consider leaving her out every day. Deal?

Goodnight, everyone.