The Way to a Soldier's Heart

The late Orson Wells, the actor and director, allegedly said, "Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch." I believe he may have been quoting a soldier.

I noticed recently on soldiers' blogs that there is a lot of mention of food... what they ate, what they were serving in the chow halls, what the Iraqis eat, what kind of food is sent from home, what's the first food they'll eat when they get home... So it was not all that surprising when some of the first words out of our son's mouth in an early morning phone call revolved around food -- or at least the lack of edible food.

They have started to receive the boxes we shipped (we calculate it took 8 or 9 days for our first boxes to get there) and they are most grateful for the cigs, soaps and the food, but please send more food. He says that the food that the Army provides is not cooked onsite at their camp, but is trucked in twice daily. His exact words? "The food just sucks, Ma -- most of the time we can't even tell what we're eating and a lot of the time it's just inedible."

So his Dad says, "Well, it's Army food" to which the son replies, "Dad, I've been eating Army food for two years and Army food in the Sandbox for six months -- and whatever this is, it ain't Army food!" He says they are hungry most of the time and that food is a precious commodity at the camp. He reminds me that he and the guys will usually eat anything that resembles food, but even they can't eat the slop that's served. So we tell him we'll head to the discount shopping warehouse and buy all types of prepared canned food and send it... spaghettios, spaghetti, ravioli, soups, stews, chili -- whatever we can find. He says that the chow hall itself has two large mortar holes in the roof and one in the side...

His voice sounds hoarse and I ask if he has a cold, and he says, "No... sand and dust. We all sound like frogs here."

He asks his Dad if he can find some sort of a clip-on fan that he can attach to his bunk or that can be rigged to hang on the wall above his upper bunk... they have air conditioning, but it's not particularly effective in the extreme heat and with 10 guys in a room... and please send a power strip and extension cord... and can we send some PSP (PlayStation Portable) movies and games... and since he decided to leave his laptop stateside after R&R, can we get him an inexpensive portable DVD player (put it on his credit card) since only one of the 10 guys in his room has a PC and it's too old and too slow for them to watch movies? and they got a water delivery this week and they had their first real showers in weeks... but no hot water... just cold... but it was better than bottled water showers.

We ask how the new camp is and he says (besides that it sucks) that it's much busier than the old camp and that "something happens every day -- usually a few times a day." We ask if he is outside the wire a lot and he says at least 6 out of 7 days a week... and they are mortared inside the camp every day... and he no sooner says that than a large explosion is heard in the background... something exploding outside the camp, he says. He tells me first sergeant C. ran over an IED yesterday but says the IED was buried deep and basically just made a big hole that the HUMMVV fell into and C. and all aboard were ok... tells me that 30 vehicles ran over the IED before C.'s truck did...

He asks me to have his best friend send his camera which he also left after R&R because there is a lot to photograph in his new AO. He tells me that they are stopping lots of terrorists... I ask if they're capturing them... he says no, but they're getting rid of lots of them... that he's learned to drag the bodies by the feet... I say, I sure wish he didn't have to see all that at 20... and he tells me he's ok because he knows they're the bad guys and he know where this is in his head and his life -- something that must be done in order for him and other good people there and everywhere to live their lives... he mentions that they have been seeing the news on London and Egypt and it just makes them more determined...

He says he has formulated the outline of a "game plan" for when he gets out of the service and we talk his finances for a few minutes and he asks us to send some college catalogs... He talks about the various federal, state and local agencies he might join after college... We talk about his future which is nice. We talk about family news -- a cousin that is pregnant, an aunt/uncle/cousins moving this week, our trip to a new casino, movies we've seen... We talk about V., R., M. and K. and how they received their first boxes, how grateful they are, they promise to write, and how they're doing... and I say that other Army moms and Army wives are sending things, too and he says that is so 'kewl"... and he tells me that M.'s son took his first steps and said "Da-Da" on the phone this week but how his will-be ex-wife is still giving him all kinds of grief, but he's doing ok... and our son wants to call his girl and he's gotta go...

and I want to stay on the phone for hours just talking and asking him things, but all too soon it's "We love you, son! Stay safe!!" and his Dad's "Luv ya, man" brings a chuckle and the expected "Love you too, mannnnn" and the two laugh... "Love you too, ma. Thanks for everything... we really appreciate it and we really need it... I'll be careful, ma, don't worry." "Well call us again soon. We love to hear your voice." "I will. Love you. Bye."

DH and I talk about the things our son has said... the colleges... the after-Army employment... the food situation... and DH has gone to the garage and found four extension cords and a new clip-on work lamp that maybe the soldier can use... and he's started a list of things he wants to pick up at the store for "our Guys"... and we joke that the things we send soldiers should be tax deductible or free to mail 'cause this is going to be an expensive year if we have to feed five guys in Iraq... we've already spent a small fortune buying these necessities and the mailing costs in just two weeks... DH jokingly suggests that we might have to "un-retire" to support a whole new family... but right now, we're off on our errands and I mumble about hoping I have enough flat rate boxes...

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