Summer's End

 The burning torch that plagued our days has started to sputter – the reign of summer has ended. The ebony ribbons of asphalt have lost their plasticity and solidified like black sheets of ice. Scorching fields of sand no longer send waves of heat rippling through the soles of your boots. And the shimmering blooms of heat that refracted light like dancing water have finally settled. The temperatures are still in the low triple digits, but after months of brutal summer heat that feels downright pleasant. 

 The best time of day to be outside is still early morning, when the sun is still gathering strength as it crests the horizon. In the throes of summer the mornings weren’t cool, they just seemed that way compared to the blaring heat of midday. Now the mornings settle around you like a light winter coat, as if the air itself were trying to apologize for months of thermal transgressions.  

 On cool mornings like these Iraq becomes a very different place, if only for a few minutes. As the sun breaks the horizon the cool glare blots out the scattered debris and wind woven mats of junk. What it leaves behind is a scene softly shaded by the tangerine glow of morning. A landscape as blurred as an impressionist painting, and almost as lovely. 

 These moments never last longer then a handful of minutes, and as the morning star climbs higher into the sky the collective waste of a metropolis once again become the focal point. It almost feels like watching a time lapse movie of rust corrupting a piece of iron.  Sometimes it seems like nothing will ever change, but then again there is always tomorrow morning. And the one after that. And the next. And then tens of thousands more following in an unbroken chain. And if we succeed here one of those mornings the sun may rise on something brighter then this blighted land. Hope springs eternal…

Comments

[chris watson]

i don't think I could have described the last couple of weeks any better. I never thought I'd experience 120-130 degree days. Keep safe and if you get over to Victory, come look me up in Building 5. -Chris-

[chris watson]

i don't think I could have described the last couple of weeks any better. I never thought I'd experience 120-130 degree days. Keep safe and if you get over to Victory, come look me up in Building 5. -Chris-

[PD]

When your mission is over and the troops have left, I wonder what forty years will bring? Will the eyes of the Iraqi children still hold the image of American kindness and our outreach? I trust they will. Your fine work goes much further than the military obligation you are charged to enforce. Also know sir, at times your pictures are even more fluent and descriptive than your words. Be safe.

[Edward]

T6, I just took a look at your latest pictures and have to comment on the one titled "Shy". The young girl in the purple print shift has an absolutely stunning face. The eyes---the eyes are incredible, haunting. The older brother in the "future of Iraq" photo is also notable. The children of Iraq are beautiful, but these two are remarkable. I hope that they grow up in a civilized nation, due to the sacrifices of you, you comrades, and the brave Iraqi forces now fighting alongside you.

[Edward]

T6, It is always such a pleasure to read your evocative posts. Subsunk is right. Don't hide this light under a basket after your term in the sandbox comes to a close. We in S. CA have been having wonderful weather. I cannot believe temperatures in the mid-70s in the San Fernando Valley in early September. I hope you will have green hills surrounding you when you return. You know that we DID break the all-time record for recorded rainfall last year after all. They had to adjust due to the fact that the official rain reporting point was shifted a few decades ago from a location that always has more rain than its present location.

[Ma Deuce Gunner]

Hey Sir, Tell Thunder 7 I say hello, I flew home with him on RR.

[PebblePie]

Triple digets... Only good when out on the boat, at the beach or in the pool... Have you ever tried those MistyMates or the coolties? http://www.mistymate.com/ http://www.watersorb.com/polymer_cool_neck_bands.htm {{{HUGS}}} Pebble

[David]

What you describe is hope, an emotion that is lacking at times in those of us that have everything and yet, do not realize it.

[Subsunk]

T6, You write well, son. You have a future ahead of you as a writer, and as a warrior-poet, if you choose. Press on. The cool and temperate climate at home beckons. Come home, soon, safe and sound. We are all rooting for you. Subsunk