Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impact…

One of the most anticipated moments of the day is mail call. It’s great to receive letters or packages from home, especially when it's something you need and are expecting. It's even better when you're surprised by a huge package full of things you weren’t expecting at all and didn’t know you needed. Today I received just that sort of gift. Well - sort of - More like the entire office received this sort of gift. You see today the US Mail delivered a large extremely damaged box of gear from my co-workers at Warner Bros. (my civilian life) I'm not entirely sure all the contents made it to our destination since all four corners were ripped apart but enough made it to make a real difference. To be sure there was something I requested; a DVD player that plays Region 1 DVDs. What I didn’t anticipate was all the marketing swag and something even more special. (I'll get to that in a sec).
The swag (T-shirts, Caps, bobble heads, DVDs) was a tremendous hit with all my battle buddies. For a few minutes, morale in the office lifted as I passed out the goods. They forgot about the crap of the day and reminisced on films they saw or characters they love. For a short time the glitter of Hollywood sparkled here in Baghdad. For this I say THANK YOU! You even managed to get Mr. Serious Big Guy Airborne Infantry to smile and laugh just a bit - Hooah! (Trust me this is no trivial task) They love it ALL. And the DVDs? The best way to share with everyone is to open a small library so the folks here can get a little morale call in their hooch. My lesson for the day is how important our job back home is for the folks out here. Entertainment takes us away from this place even, if it's just for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours. Entertainment is VITAL! We Needed This! Never forget your contribution to members of the US Services.

Something more special - Along with all the swag, was a great surprise; something far more important to me. I received a bag full of little signed valentines, pictures and drawings from all my co-workers – correction - my extended family, my girlfriend and close friend Zetty. Now the regular letters I received from my sweet-heart and Zetty over the past couple of months mean a lot to me and they brighten my day. This is expected. This little bag of sweet nothings managed to choke me up. This was totally unexpected. Not only was it a subtle reminder of why I'm here but these simplest of things took me back to a life and home before Baghdad. It brought me, if only for a few minutes, close to all the folks who mean so much to me. I Needed This! Thank you is not enough - For this I truly have no words…