Barbie

Last night we had a farewell barbecue for SPC Cordero who has, by the time you read this, already arrived at another base. Though it was sad to lose a member of our little group, the party was fun anyway. The PX here sells a very limited selection of frozen meats, including some pre-formed burgers with Vidalia onions mixed in. Combine these with the amazing assortment of spices (up to and including Montreal Steak mix) which the medics have accumulated, and the occasional (sort of) fresh buns available at the PX, and you have a pretty good barbie.

1000 Words

Our resident Marine Corps pilot, CPT Deb Turley, brought her camera last Sunday, and sent me this picture, which will give you an idea of what our humble church meetings look like. You’ll notice that all services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines) are represented here (note the different uniforms). Front left is Sister Turley, middle is Brother Lloyd, the second assistant to Brother Manny Diaz (second from left in the back row), who is our group leader. The woman who appears to be glowing is Sister Lott, who is wearing a night-reflective badge. This sacrament meeting starts at 8 PM, and most of the congregants walk or ride bikes to church.

Rupard Mailbag

Have I mentioned how very much American soldiers love to see those red, white (mostly), and blue priority mail boxes? They are like manna from heaven, sometimes literally.

On Monday of this week, my Norelco razor bought the farm, which is very bad news for me, as I use it to groom not only my face, but also my expansive & bald noggin. Having to physically shave my head with razor & cream is a huge pain, and usually results in a few nicks and/or not-quite-baby-smooth areas. So, I needed a new Norelco, stat.

Lorri Rupard to the rescue! I called Lorri on Monday, she went to Target (her favorite store), scored me a nice inexpensive rotary, and put it in the mail with a bunch of other goodies (Batman Pez dispensers, peanut butter M&Ms, rice krispy treats). Unbelievably, I received the package on Saturday, just 5 days later, which means that I had a nice smooth head for church today. Thanks, Lorri!

I also received two priority mail boxes from the Anundsens of Reading, PA. Beckles & Company filled those boxes with ziploc bins full of cookies, including sugar cookies, chocolate chip with nuts (woo-hoo!), peanut butter, and white chocolate macadamia. These were delivered just before the aforementioned barbecue, and were heartily enjoyed by my whole company of soldiers during said party. I have to confess, though, that one box of the choco chips remained in my trailer. I will be working through that one over the next 27 days. Thanks, Beckles!