Rebekah, Lucas, and I had a great time in Cheyenne taking care of the last minute details for my deployment. A highlight of the trip was when the TAG (The Adjutant General) stopped by Sunday afternoon to see me off and offer his encouragement to Rebekah. It is a great privilege to serve in a State where our highest ranking military member makes the effort to personally thank deploying personelle.
After a rousing game of ball...
Lucas was a ready for a scrub.
Once he realized what all the attention was actually about, he took it kind of hard. He'll miss his dad.
We woke up Monday ready for a leisure morning of packing and organizing since my flight didn't leave until evening. One look out the window and all leisure departed. It looked like this.
Get it?
After two and half hours of stop and go traffic on I85 with about 50 yard visibility, we made it to DIA. An awaiting passenger was kind enough to snap a picture.
We flew over Canada and off the Southern tip of Greenland. At this point I couldn't help but imagine the fishing villages that dot the coast. That's a place I'd love to visit one day.
Pictures of where I am now will have to wait for another day. But, before I go, I'm going to tell you about some of the interesting people with whom I shared a very large, double-decker airplane.
They range from the Catholic church ladies headed to a European cathedral tour, to the guy up a row and across the aisle from me who watched raunchy movies on his iPad the entire 9 hour flight, and laughed out loud with his earbuds in. It looked more disgusting than funny from my vantage point, but he was having a great time. Or, so it seemed.
Then there was the lady towering at about 5' 1" and boasting a frame of at least 105 lbs. Otherwise, by both looks and demeanor she reminded me of Meg Ryan. She was headed to Germany to compete in an international competition of... wait for it... power lifting.
We were also kept company by the eccentric cat-lady, only, it wasn't a cat. It was a small, fluffy service-dog that was the subject of several arguments between Fluffy's owner and the otherwise accommodating flight crew.
I sat next to a book publisher from Copenhagen who specializes in Philosophy, Psychology, and pedagogy. She was more interested in the Big Horn Mountain pictures on my iPad than she was in talking about her work. I think the world needs more people like that.
International travel is a fascinating thing. Just this evening over dinner I met an Army officer with an advanced degree in entomology. Didn't see that one coming. But, the story that reminded me why I am here - that was the young Marine who had to leave his guys in the desert to come home for a family emergency. Those matters being cleared up, he was headed back for the remaining month of his second deployment. Those are the guys who need support. I'm here to serve those who serve our nation. Thanks for making it possible for me to be here. Pray for me: tomorrow it begins. I'll be in touch.
.JPG)
