Merry Christmas to all...I hope everyone had a joyous and relaxing day with family and friends. My day was filled with food, football and an everlasting memory. To start, the above picture includes all four Marines from my location, three of the twelve Army soldiers, one civilian contractor and the senior Iraqi officer from our duty station - he is the one with the mustache. I had a lazy morning, only one short meeting prior to lunch. The noon feast included turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce - the kind from a can, mashed potatoes, asparagus, a variety of salads and several delicious deserts. And to top it all off we had eggnog to celebrate the day. Around mid-afternoon a group of us - pictured above - chose to work off our high calorie lunch by playing football. I am happy to report all players walked - or limped (Army player) - off the field - if you can call "packed sand" a field, under our own power. In the true spirit of the Holidays our eyes were bigger then our stomachs as we over indulged at dinner which consisted of the leftovers from lunch and T-bone steaks for those craving beef. Although the day was relaxing and enjoyable it was not until I stepped outside in the dark that a wave a peace and harmony came over me for a brief moment. Tonight when I moved past some of the buildings in my area, the brightness of the moon in the clear night sky seemed to light my path, and for just a few seconds - with mounds of sand off in the distant in front of me and the brisk breeze at my back, I almost felt like I was a Sheppard on a journey to the manger. But the feeling passed when the headlights from a parked car appeared a few yards away. I quickly returned to reality when I was greeted by one of the Iraqi soldiers when he politely said, "Happy Merry Christmas, Major." Later that night when I was reflecting on my day it occurred to me that even in a war torn country there exist peace and harmony if you know where to look. I will not soon forget that peaceful moment and I believe that memory may just follow me every Christmas when I look up into a clear night sky and think about the Sheppards and Kings who made the journey across the desert some two thousand years ago. Lastly, although Christmas is celebrated on the 25th, my Christmas came on the 26th...tune in tomorrow to find out why.
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