RAIN!!!!!!!

No pictures, sorry. Left my camera at work.

It has rained twice in 24 hours! The sky is overcast. I never knew I could be so happy to see English weather! Well, South Carolina weather - to be exact. It rained so hard, and the wind blew so fierce - it knocked the tops off many date palms last night. The scene looked like a hurricane aftermath when we went to work on vehicles this morning. Decapitated palms, banyans split asunder and all. And it rained again this afternoon. Its raining now! Ah, the smells! (not all bad). That makes exactly the second and third time it has rained since we landed here in late April. Imagine that. A few weeks ago, we fell back into double digit weather, every third or fourth day. Now, maximum temperatures barely crest 95 - each and every day. Baghdad weather has become a good deal more hospitible, as far as I'm concerned. I'll take the wind, and the trees blown down - as long as I don't lose a pint of sweat walking 300 yards down to the Dining facility. Bliss! I can handle this!

I hope to post some more pictures soon.
All the best to everyone! I'm a bit behind in my emailing, and I apologise. Cliff's back from R&R now (he went home and married his fiance', KIM) so I have to SHARE my internet connection again. To all who are waiting for an email response from me - in due time. In the meantime, with all those care-package solicitations - send TRISCUITS, and peanut butter. I don't need any more toiletries. Thanks, but I have four tubes of toothpaste, five tooth brushes, and stacks and stacks of baby-wipes I'll never get rid of. We have access to toilets and showers here - baby wipes are more useful for guys out in the field who can't do either (properly). Wherever I go in Baghdad, I way my wittle head down on my piwwows in my hooch every night. (OK, my head's not so little).

Speaking of pillows - noone's sent me a giant back and arm-rest pillow! For one of my next posts I plan to photograph and post my e-mailing arrangement. Its vewy uncomfootabew. I have a few paper-thin pillows to stand upright to buffer my back against this twisted, useless, needless iron headboard behind me. Ouch, I'm getting back cramps right now . . . I guess thats why we get hardship pay.

All the Best,

-MG