The Smog of War

"Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!"
-Henry David ThoreauUS Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)

The air in Kabul was so thick with pollution this morning that you needed to use a fork and a knife just breath it. The air had the appearance of dirty fog. The problem with the air in Kabul stems from the fact that the city is surrounded by large mountains so the pollution is essentially trapped inside and can not easily ventilate itself. There are also a number of other causes which exacerbate the pollution, such as, cars that burn diesel fuel, people burning wood in furnaces to heat their homes, and, worst of all, everywhere you look they are burning tires.

Driving in Kabul is definitely an experience, especially when you are driving a Humvee. I loaded a few videos onto the shazdoc video site. The best way I could describe it is it is like you are driving an ambulance with blaring sirens. You have to be somewhat aggressive but at the same time very safe.

Today we did more equipment moving. Most of the doctors arrived wearing very nice cloths like leather jackets and turtle neck sweaters. I do not think that they came expecting to lift boxes and move furniture. I tried to lead by example. I grabbed a heavy box and I said, "Come on, grab a box. Lets put them in your room."

When I got back I had 2 big boxes waiting for me. I told the person working in the post office not to be surprised if he starts to getting packages addressed to 6 M.I.K.. He looked at me a little funny and jokingly asked to see my ID.

One of the packages I got was a box full of children's socks from someone in Waynesboro, Virginia. The second box was filled with towels and watches from someone from Newbury Park, California. People always ask me if I need anything and 9 times out of 10 I say, "No thanks, I am doing just fine. We are very well taken care of over here." Well when I got asked this question recently I answered truthfully saying that I really needed a new towel and a really cheap watch if one was lying around. Because of this request I got sent 20 watches (if you look closely you can see the price tag of $250.00) and 20 towels. What can I say. That is Soldiers Angles for you. When you ask for something they really deliver. I gave out the watches to all of my office mates and they were all very appreciative.

I have not mentioned it for a while but I am still more then happy to distribute any donations that you send me. I prefer that you send me stuff for Afghan children. Whatever you send I will try and personally hand them out and take pictures. Don't worry about how my address is changing. The post office here will easily forward anything you send to my new address.

Thanks for reading.