Just when you think you’ve seen it all…

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something else happens. I’m only 35 years-old but I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world – literally. Let me run through the list quickly: Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Somalia, Kenya, Australia, Panama, Mexico, Venzuela, Canada, Germany, Spain and the ‘motherland’ for me - Ireland.

Some of the things I’ve seen blow me away to this day: The sword-fight in Thailand – a ‘real’ sword fight, mind you.

A man shot in the middle of a street in Singapore – a very rare occurrence because they have an extremely low crime rate and to this day it was the cleanest place I’ve ever visited. Did you know it is illegal to have chewing gum in Singapore?!

A woman getting stoned to death in Somalia, not to mention the mass graves in Somalia. Sadly, Somalia also had some of the most beautiful water and coastline I have ever seen, truly beautiful, until you turn around to look at the land and the plight of its people.

The warmest welcome I’ve ever received was pulling into port in Perth, Australia with literally 100 Australian women holding up signs that read “Any US Marine or Sailor” – ‘Hey, that’s me!’

I almost got trampled by an elephant in Thailand; I was ordered out of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kuwait for ‘Daily Prayers;’ I learned how to ask which way is the border in Spanish while in Mexico, I saw a guy get kicked through a glass window in a storefront in Hong Kong (Kowloon Island to be exact) – the birthplace of Bruce Lee. And my personal favorite – in Australia, I told this girl in a bar in Perth I loved her accent and her drunk friend with a sharp wit snapped back, “In our bloody country you got the accent, you conceited Yank!” Priceless. I have never laughed harder.

However, nothing was quite as unexpected or unique or sad or as beautiful as the story of ‘Alex Callahan,’ which I read about recently in Stars and Stripes.

When soldiers here saw someone get out of a car and drop off a large bag close to the entry gates of their base here in Baghdad they knew that it could contain something deadly. They were alarmed. It wasn’t deadly though. In fact, the bag didn’t bring death, it brought life.

A 3-7 day-old baby boy to be exact.

The soldiers named him ‘Alex,’ after the US soldier who found him, and gave him the last name ‘Callahan’ after the base he was left at (FOB Callahan). Now these US soldiers in their full body armor, weapons slung over their backs, faces caked with sand and sweat, fighting a war, are changing diapers and feeding little ‘Alex’ who now is just one of the guys. Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people has never taken such a hands on approach. The American soldier couldn’t be any greater than at this very moment in time than he is right now.

The only thing deadly to come out of all this is maybe the smell from the diapers.

I love you Lindsay,

Kiss the baby for me-I miss you so much,

YAMWW,

Steve