Live from Baghdad, er...Wichita

Okay, I know I'm a wuss, but I gotta tell you - I just got back from a walk through my neighborhood, and the illegals were flyin'. (Fireworks, not immigrants.)

Tonight, the fifth of July, the din of fireworks is constant, everything from fountains (legal) to freakin' mortars that put the city's display to shame (pretty sure that's illegal). While walking, I had to time my steps so that I wouldn't be in the path of an errant something or other.

Thankfully, most of the driveways I passed featured grown men lighting the firecrackers, not small children.

Tonight, before you go to bed, think about everyone who isn't lucky enough to be spending their Independence Day holidays stateside, and send them some good karma. I can't even imagine what it must be like to face the danger of REAL mortars or RPGs or IEDs or whatever the weapon of choice is these days day in and day out.

I'm reading "From Baghdad, With Love" now. It's about a Marine Lt Col who "adopted" a puppy while serving in Iraq in 2004. For those of you who don't know, the Marine Corps is WAY against such activity. It's a great book - just started it today, and I'm already 80 pages in (had plenty of time to read during our GARAGEAGANZA today). But, I hate to read about how Marines are drilled and drilled and drilled and drilled to become desensitized to killing, because that makes their job easier. Logical, I know, but I hate to think of my former student who is in Iraq right now, and think of him going through that training. He was one of the nicest, most kind-hearted kids I had at Derby. I just hope he's doing okay.