The troops

Sometimes I look at all these guys with their jarhead haircuts, and their female counterparts dressed in camo and looking so serious, and I think troops have changed so much since my late husband and his friends served in Viet Nam. They were kind of a rebellious bunch, for the most part. They groused about wearing uniforms and having regulation haircuts, they complained about chow hall food, and they got into all kinds of small trouble. I really loved hearing their stories of serving in Viet Nam, because, frankly, they were hilarious. I think it speaks to what strong and wonderful people they were that they could find humor in their daily lives in an otherwise difficult place and time.

But, you know, things don't change as much and as fast as cranky old people like me perceive. So, today I'm sending you here: How to pepare for deployment to Iraq because this is priceless and, also, timeless. Hope it makes you smile and also makes you remember that while we debate whether we should even be there (and I think it's our responsibility to do just that and make our voices heard), most of our troops in Iraq are just doing their best to get by from day to day with as much humor and grace as they can manage.