Stryker Brigade News

I probably should have written something sooner, but I didn't feel much like submitting anything after the Mosul Mess Hall bombing. That was way too easy for the Hajjis to pull off. Scott wasn't happy about the attack, but he wasn't surprised, either. Of course, we're glad our new friends at the 67th CSH (who are "off the air" due to their popularity) did such a great job with the wounded. We wish them all a speedy recovery.

12/19/04: We watched some football and had sort of a party with friends and relatives. We had a decoration malfunction so Julie had to plan a trip to get some new stuff on Monday. (Anybody want an old artificial tree?) Scott is whistling again. He doesn't seem able to carry a tune yet, but we'll work on it. I think we'll start with "If I Only Had a Brain" from the Wizard of Oz. This tune has been an inside joke around here long before Scott was injured because he used to sing this with some very different lyrics.

12/20/04: Back to work! (Insert lash sound effects about here) Co-workers were glad to see me (and for the right reasons), but not as glad as I was to see them. Something about going back to work that makes you think things are normal again. I discovered in my office mailbox the mysterious missing card the staff mailed to me at Walter Reed. It left the Vista (California) Courthouse, went to the Mologne House at Walter Reed in DC, where it was properly forwarded to our home address in Escondido, California, but some nitwit at the USPS instead sent it to the Vista Courthouse return address where some other person directed it to my mailbox at the office. The intent of the card was for my co-workers to express their concerns for us and encourage us to fight on while we were at Walter Reed. My boss seemed a little nervous about the card whenever I called to update him. I discovered a very generous contribution was enclosed when I eventually opened the card. They intended for us to get out some night to take care of ourselves. Well, we'll just have to do that here or the next time we're in DC. There were also gifts waiting for Scott, Tiffany and Alyson and another very generous contribution was involved here as well. The bailiffs contributed a San Diego County Sheriff's ball cap and some other nice things for Scott.

When I was hired for my current position, I felt like I was a kid again and was picked for the team I always wanted to play for. It's been almost three years now and I still feel that way. The work is sometimes ugly (mediating Family Court custody plans, which is why watching the Maury Povich Show in Minneapolis was not a good idea!), but the people I work with and for are great. I could not have had better support under the circumstances. For them to have showered us with such generosity is truly special.

Scott stayed home and relaxed on the couch today. He started working his way through the DVD collection. He went out with his mom to obtain the new decorations. He spent some time playing with his nephew (Gesundheit!) during the day. Monday Night Football? Of course. I told the boys the old story of how we listened to the audio channel of the Seattle ABC affiliate on 71.75 MHz on the old AN/PRC-77 radios while out in the field at Ft. Lewis. Since we were lots closer to the receivers than the original transmitter, soldiers often tried out their Howard Cosell impressions or commented on the radios rebutting something he said on the program. It was usually obscene, but always very funny.

12/21/04: Home sick with food malfunction. What a great way to pay back the folks at work! Show up, say "Thanks for the gifts," then call in sick the next day. Very unpleasant day. I thought I would be able to go in for the afternoon, but continued trips to the "smallest room in the house" (as Voltaire would say) confined me to quarters. Scott gave me puzzled looks during the day as he saw me passing by.

12/22/04: OK. Let's see if I can work two days in a row. Scott still working on the collection. For some reason, he wants to sleep on the couch. There's a nice bed available, but he wants the couch.

12/23/04: I make it to work two days in a row. Not much heavy lifting since no one wants to fight about child custody on the day before a holiday. Some excitement brewing at the house as Julie and her mom prepare food for the Big German Dinner Julie's put on every year since we left Germany (1978). The beer (Pilsner Urquel) is technically Czech, but, ah, from an area that's sorta changed hands recently. Dan and Scott hit the mall to do some shopping. When he got back Scott pretended he couldn't talk when I asked him what he bought.

12/24/04: The Big German Dinner with friends and relatives followed by gift exchange for those so inclined. A battery-operated train set (from Julie's mom) was a big hit with the grandson. For a kid 21 months old, he knew better than to touch it (most of the time) and just let it run. Lots of "WOW" with the occasional "Uh-oh" when there was a derailment. Scott was very pleased with the day and didn't have too much fatigue, a problem with brain injured persons, as you will recall. Somewhere in here we watched the expanded version of The Return of the King. Very cool.

12/25/04: Football or hobbits on the television. A pretty lazy day for everybody.

12/26/04: More football blurs by us while I bore the boys with officiating commentary everytime I recognize an official working the game. The mute button on the remote gets a better work out than we do because not every commercial involves Huns looting malls.

12/27/04: Back to work (going for four in a row this week). Scott, Julie, Dan, grandson Kellan, cousin Val and her fiance are out to eat lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Acapulco (We'd go there more often, but they have Karaoke--Japanese for "Public Intoxication"--twice a week in the bar), while I'm at work eating those roll-up things from Costco. Later, I join John Madden to gripe about Philadelphia playing the second string in a game with play-off ramifications.

12/28/04: Scott sleeps in the bed (finally). Maybe it was the rain? He slept about 12 hours, but is eating normally. I guess this is good. He needs to get some weight back on him, that's for sure. He went out shopping with his Mom for a new stove/oven/thing. We don't need one, of course, but since ours has been in this house as long as we have (17 years), it's probably time for this one to go boom. The fridge is next up. I'll need to check with my cousin Art (our industrial plumber and Roto Rooter franchisee) about running the line for the ice maker and cold water dispenser we got used to at the Fisher House in Minneapolis.

12/29/04: A funny thing happened tonight. I took the boys out to see Blade Trinity. I pulled out the Visa card to buy the tickets and I noticed the Military discount ($7.25 instead of $9.50) on the board. I told Scott to get his ID out. He didn't have it with him, so we talked about what we could do. The answer hit all of us at the same time. We got to the window and the young college kid working there asks what we want to see. "Two regular and one military discount to see Blade Trinity." He asks for the ID and my older son, Dan, said Scott lost it (which is sorta true). I said it was in Mosul, Iraq someplace (which may be true for his original card). While still looking at his screen, the kid says, "'I lost it.' That's my favorite excuse." I said, "OK Scott, show him what else you lost." Scott comes to the window and pulls his helmet up just as the kid looks up from the screen. "WHOA! That's ID enough!" We all grin and Scott pulls the helmet back on. Dan told the guy (who was still shaken up), "He loves to do that!" A quick nod as he gave us the tickets. Scott is laughing more and he did so at the right places in the movie. (He laughed really hard at some movie he watched this week. Wish I could remember which one. Wait, it was The Man With Two Brains. The scene were he comes into the surgery to find some interesting preparation going on.)

It was sprinkling as we came out of the theater. Scott talked about how different it was to be here in the cool rain after the heat of Iraq. I told him how walking in the rain reminds me of being an infantryman, which I occasionally wish I still was (There's nothing that tests your patriotism and dedication to duty like marching 20 miles in the rain carrying a 35 pound recoilless rifle, my friends). We repeated lines from the movie we thought were funny on the way home, something we've done together since we started going to movies. We watch a movie once and the lines come back again and again at the dinner table or some other inappropriate place for years.

12/30/04: Julie and Scott came to the Courthouse to pick me up for lunch. Took Scott around to meet those who were present. We had to be brief at all the stops, but he got to meet about half the crew I suppose. We got to meet some update readers, all of whom were happy to see him alive and walking around. We went to the Soup Plantation and ate without difficulty. Julie dropped me off then went to buy a new car. She was supposed to look at a used car, but ended up with the new one. It's a 2005 Honda Odyssey, similar to the one her niece loaned us while we were in DC the first time. JOKE ALERT--It's their fault we bought one, of course.--ALL CLEAR My boss said it was very good to see him up and moving around. It's pretty cool to just walk in and inspire people. Of course, it's still no big deal for Scott.

12/31/04: Not much outside activity today. My mother, sister and brother-in-law came over, followed by my aunt and her husband. Everyone's happy Scott made it home, even though he's not quite 100% yet. We can all tell he's back, even if he can't say it in so many words.

1/1/05: We went to the local mall (OK, so it doesn't have a Camp Snoopy) for some gift card usage and a late lunch/early dinner. Dan and Scott wanted to buy something for each other so I took Scott and Julie took Dan around. We met up at Red Robin for the meal. We came home and watched the movie Dan purchased (because he got to the only copy before I did--oh well).

1/2/05: Lots of football today. One of Scott's friends (who was frustrated by a certain airline) came by with a friend early. Sometime after they left, Ed Kettler and his wife came by and chatted with us during the second half of the Chargers game. [Yeah, they played the second and third team, but they still came to play, baby!] Ed's brother George was keeping an eye on Scott for me in Iraq. I didn't know Ed had a brother until I told him Scott was deploying, only to discover George worked in the Tactical Operations Center and pretty much knew where Scott was most of the time! Ed met Scott a couple years ago playing out a scenario from Ed's book on the Falklands War, South Atlantic War (available from www.clashofarms.com). For the record, Ed's dice were hotter than Scott's, which is saying something, and the Atlantic Conveyor didn't take an Exocet hit.

This evening during the Giants-Cowboys game (nice ending there), we had some more whistle work. Scott could do it, but there's no melody yet. His brother got him doing a weak wolf whistle, but that was all. Later, I worked on Scott's saluting and tried to get him to report properly ("Sergeant Thorne reporting, Sir"). After no small effort on his part he saluted and said, "I'm here, Sir." As soon as he said it I told him that would do just fine. It's not "Lafayette, we are here," but I think it will have a similar effect on those of his men who hear it.

ST