The "Friendly" Skies

I had the pleasure of meeting two very nice young men on the flights home. Derrek was a college student/professional poker player on his way to Sacramento to see his ailing father. He had a very good head on his shoulders and was very pleasant. Somehow he manages to maintain control when playing poker and doesn't get sucked into the "addiction" of the game. He said "When you do it as a form of employment, you look at it a very different way". Smart.

From Atlanta to Tampa I sat next to a handsome young man that had just returned from 15 months in Iraq. I believe he said he was in the 82nd or 101st Airborne out of Tikrit. Luckily he and most of his battalion came home safe. His best friend from childhood unfortunately did not. He lived in Tampa and his family still do. He was coming down to visit them for four days. In February he will be transferred to Mc Dill Air force Base here in Tampa, which is Command Central for the war in Iraq. There will be no more tours for him that include sand, mud and people trying to shoot at him.

DB gave me a great deal of insight into what's "really" going on over there and how the soldiers "really" feel about the war, being over in Iraq and President Bush. He painted a very different picture than what the media portrays. I was surprised to hear that although they aren't happy with the fact Bush doesn't have an exit plan they support him. Mostly because with all the personal and professional criticism Bush is getting over the war he has the conviction to stand by his decisions and not cower to what "everyone else wants him to do". The soldiers understand they just can't pack up and come home. They would leave the country and the people in a state almost worse than during the Saddam era. Thankfully they feel they are finally making progress.

You never know who you're going to meet when you make the step to simply say "Hello". I personally don't like to pretend I'm all alone when I'm out in public. We have to remind ourselves it's a world of 7 billion people and we simply can't go about our daily lives ignoring everyone. That's one of the major reasons I keep a blog here on the web. I love all my new friends and always look forward to meeting new ones. My blog "family' help keep me sane and in touch with the real world. I'm so grateful for each one of you.

Ciao for now!