Bob says:
I'm extremely happy to announce that, in all likelihood, the following is the LAST letter from Kuwait from my friend Joe Matis (aka CDR Joseph B. Matis, CEC, USN), who is currently serving there under the auspices of the U.S. Army. If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to take a look back at his previous messages. Also, the newsletter that he references below is well worth a look. Take it away, Joe...
28 February 2007
Welcome to what will be my last update from Kuwait. As of this date, I’m so short I could play handball against the curb and should be back in CONUS (Continental United States) in less than 2 weeks.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed these periodic updates. I know that they’ve been a bit therapeutic for me to write since they’ve given me a brief chance to sit back, disseminate, and reflect upon what’s been happening to us. It all seems a bit of a blur at this point. I had hoped to write more often, as there is much, much more to tell, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to do so in person with you all.
As an added bonus, I’m attaching the last newsletter from our Det.
I’ve been wracking my brain on how to close out with this last letter. I wanted to somehow summarize the experience we’ve had here, but there are so many things to say. So think I’ll talk about some of the things here that I’ll actually miss (yes, there are many things I won’t miss, but I suppose it’s better to end on a positive note.) Here it goes, in no particular order:
Things that I’m going to miss about Kuwait, or
A Few of My Favorite (Kuwaiti) ThingsCamels – How could you not. One of God’s truly amazing creatures. I never get tired of watching them. For awhile, during the winter months, they were hard to find. Guess they put them away somewhere during that time (where do camels winter over, somewhere hotter than here?!) Thankfully, now they are back in full force as we drive around. And speaking of which…
Driving through the Desert – There’s something mystic, spiritual, and totally life-affirming about being out in the desert. I’ve always felt that way about the SW deserts back in the states and probably more so here. There’s nothing that demonstrates this more than spring in the desert, when a heretofore sea of apparent brown desolation yields large patches of green vegetation, wildflowers, and other signs of life.
Toyota Prado Land-cruisers – While I’m discussing driving, I’d be remiss to not mention our own ships of the desert (and the highways) – the Prado. They are equally adept at handling the desert terrain and the city asphalt, and believe me, each are extremely challenging here (remind me to tell you about the various driving experiences.) The Prado is Toyota’s top line land cruiser, but unfortunately, it’s not available in the states. If it was, I’d be tempted to grab one, even though I’m not really a SUV guy.
Kuwait Sunrises and Sunsets – It’s probably all of the particulates (i.e. sand) in the air that make for spectacular sunrises and sunsets here. Maybe I should just say that they’re beautiful to look at, even over the harsh outlines of a military encampment (instead of taking all of the magic out of it by giving some lame scientific explanation.)
Shepherds and their flocks of sheep – These are more prevalent than camels, particularly now when there are very green grazing areas in the desert. The whole scene with shepherds tending to their flocks in so biblical. You know all those allegories and stories about them in the old and new testament, well I always thought I got it. But it wasn’t until coming here, that I realize that I now Get It. I guess seeing is understanding. The amazing thing is that the scene of the shepherd, his sheep, and his donkey, has not changed in thousands of years, and perhaps won’t for thousands more. That is both humbling and uplifting at the same time.
Having a Helipad outside My Door – How cool is that?! Actually, there is more than one: a medevac helipad that is about a (long) driveway’s end distance from my trailer front door, and numerous pads on the camp airfield that are about 100 yards from my door. Helos flying around all times of the day is a very common sight, another thing I’ll probably miss (they’re more interesting to watch than planes.) Some days, I fall asleep or wake up to the sound of rotors turning outside, which leads me to the next item…
White Noise from the Generators, Air-Conditioner, and Who-knows-what-else – The camp here are pretty noisy, with huge generators everywhere powering everything, helos taking off and flying around, vehicles driving around everywhere, etc. The good thing is that much of it has the overall effect white background noise. So when I’m trying to sleep at night with a window AC unit directly over my bed, a generator running 20 yards away, and helos taking off and landing 100 yards away – I Can’t Hear Anything Else (and sleep very soundly as a result.)
My Morning & Evening Commute – How can you beat a 3 minute stroll to and from work? After about a week or two back home sitting in rush hour traffic on the Parkway after a long day, I’ll probably be ready to put my mouth to the tailpipe and end it all. But I’ll have to remember to try and stay calm by remembering my serene walk through the dust, mud, wind, rain, noise, heat, cold, etc. to work. (Hey, wait a minute…)
Inshallah (Insha’Allah) – A short explanation, from Wikipedia: “an Arabic term evoked by Arabic speakers to indicate hope for an aforementioned event to occur in the future. The phrase translates into English as "God willing" or "If it is God's will"…This word is often used to indicate a desire to do something that may not actually occur. This also provides wiggle room for someone who may feel obligated to agree to something, but prefers not to do it.” It’s hard to sum up Arabic culture in one word, but this may be it; a true understanding of the culture isn’t possible without understanding this concept. It kind of (partially) means “whatever happens, happens, and whenever it happens, it happens” like an Arabic version of “Que Sera, Sera” (you remember the song, right?) For many westerners, this outlook is a continuing source of frustration and consternation, but I’ve come to admire its simplicity and honesty. I think it captures something that we, in our hurried, rat-race, dog-eat-dog world, have forgotten.
Water Towers – A signature piece of functional architecture in Kuwait; all of the large community water towers here are of the same design: shaped like a big martini glass, painted blue and white with cabana-style striping, and usually found in groups of two or more. There is something about them that is very visually attractive as they stand out like a tall, cool glass of water (pun intended, I guess) against the arid, dry backdrop of the desert. I think they are almost like a national symbol at this point, which is a tribute to whoever came up with their design.
And Last, but certainly not least…
My Military Family & Comrades in Arms – It’s very hard to put into words the bonds you form with others whom with you are serving as you share so many significant life experiences. The comradery aspect of the military lifestyle has always been a top attraction for me. Suffice to say that, although I have left many friends and family back home, I have also gained many friends and family here. I’m very grateful that both sets of friends and family have helped to see me through my journey here.
I want to thank everyone for all their support, the cards, notes, packages, e-mails, and numerous kind gestures. Hearing from you was truly the high point of my day here and made it easier to get through this experience. It is very true that you don’t know what you have ‘til you don’t have it anymore. I’ve been humbled and overwhelmed by the supportive response from everyone, and consider myself truly blessed. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
Can’t wait ‘til get I get home and hopefully see you all in person!
Take care. Thanks for all your support.
Love, Joe
One more camel picture for (from) the road
Water Towers
Some advice for our relief
Beautifully written, Joe. How I wish every mother's son could've come back home to share the realization that they, like you, "Get It". You're lucky in many ways.
I'll be interested in reading of your adjustment to life on the Parkway again, now that camels, shepherds, and sand-speckled sunsets are part of your reality.
Posted by: Culli | March 02, 2007 at 09:35 AM