Days 52 - 55 (Thanksgiving Day)

24 - 27 Nov. Well a happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Mine started out quite nicely with a Beanie wake-up call. She still has a little issue with figuring out the time difference. As a matter of fact she tried to call our friends in Hawaii but luckily dialed their California number so no one answered . . . . at 4:30 A.M.!! Her boss, Brian, was able to patchwork something together that allowed Beanie to send out a PowerPoint slide with a couple of pictures embedded. I extracted the pictures and you can see them posted. It looks like the DFAC (or as we used to call it - The Chow Hall) did a pretty nice job of putting out a Thanksgiving dinner spread. I thought the paper mache first Thanksgiving display was a little over the top, but it was nice to see without someone making a politically correct stink about it. She said it would be a little slower day today which would be nice. Of course, by Afghanistan standards a little slower day could be 8 hours instead of 12! All in all I am very thankful this Thanksgiving Day. Thankful to all of you that have been so supportive of Kathy and what she is doing and thankful that she is healthy and doing better every day. The Bean & I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and extend our thanks to one and all. Cheers.

Days 46 - 51

Nov 18 – 23. Well it’s been an interesting week. Virginia was a very good trip from a business perspective and we had a really good team on site. I don’t get to work in larger team environments much any more and it was a real nice change of pace.

I chatted with the Bean several times over the week. The work “fun factor” ebbs and flows with each day as might be expected in working under such conditions. Her small team has much to do and the acceptance that one will never be “caught up” is a foreign concept for someone with Kathy’s work ethic and shall we say “mild obsession” with getting things done. She took a little time on Saturday (Afghan time) to visit the local bazaar. Each week the locals set up a bazaar (or as we might call it, a flea market) to hawk their wares. Some of the folks there are pretty heavily into the locally hand crafted rugs/carpets and local semi-precious type stones. She finds it odd that she never sees women. All the booths are run by men – same for all the on-base workers. Most definitely a culture far different than ours.

I’m continuing with the Beanie “Logistics Support” mission - shipping boxes out each week. I guess the laundry is a bit of a challenge. She said it takes about 4 hours to get thru it. Then, of course that are the natural hazards associated with common area latrines, i.e., leaving stuff in the shower, the walk-away socks and underwear – just like back in the world. She been trying to make her container as comfy as possible though she readily admits there is probably no level of nest building that make it feel like home. Quite frankly, I’m okay with that. I sense she is settling into a routine and as she gains a better feel for the work environment; who gets things done and who doesn’t, as well as how to best work within the combat zone environment, things will get better.

If I don’t get another blog out before Thanksgiving, on behalf of the Bean & I, we wish a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. One of the things we will both be grateful for this Thanksgiving is the support and kindness shown by all of you. It means a lot and please understand that it is not taken lightly or for granted.

Cheers

RC

Days 40 -45

Nov 12 - 17. Hello one and all. Well it’s been an interesting last few days. I’ve been on travel to Michigan and am currently in Virginia.

I spent the last couple days in Michigan with Kathy’s dad, Bud. Bud & I are very close and back in the day we used to do a bit of deer hunting in Ludington, MI – birthplace of the Bean. I hadn’t made the pilgrimage in many years so it was very nice to touch base with Kathy's kin after a long absence. All good salt of the earth people. It was also good to note that after almost 34 year of marriage they now refer to me by my name instead of, “this is Kathy’s husband”.

Beanie has been settling into her new “home” and office. She said she has the nicest “container” on the base. She even got to “design” her furniture. You’ll see a few new pictures she’s was able to get to me. She’s been so busy it was nice to get a couple updates. I think the picture do a pretty good job of clarifying what Beanie tries to communicate to me. It really gives me a much better feel for the area. I personally thought the shots of her in uniform were pretty hot, but then again, there is something special about a girl in uniform. It’s starting to cool off in Afghanistan so she’s migrating into her winter fashion.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures. The labels are all mine, so if they're messed up it's all me.

Days 36 - 39

8 - 11 Nov. Hey folks. This is just a short note to let everyone know Kathy is now a full time container resident. She said it's "very nice". I guess everything is relative.

One other quick issue. Kathy has asked we hold off on shipping anymore shoes to her. The Operations tempo has made it much too busy. The hope is we can resume it a little later down the road. If you have shipped shoes, thanks and Beanie will make sure they make it to the local folks. If you have collected, but not yet shipped, please hold off until further notice. Thanks so much to everyone who has jumped into this. It's pretty cool.

Last note - Happy Veterans' Day to one and all. Thanks for your service. In spite of everything, we truly do have an amazing country and it's all due to our vets.

Days 30 - 35

2 - 7 Nov. Sorry for the long absence, but I was in Augusta, GA for the week and unfortunately I was once again barred from Augusta National and asked to never return. I really thought the line of me being an advanced scout for Tiger would work, but it didn't get me thru the gate.

The news update on the Bean. First she is settling in at FOB Fenty. She is still in the tents (groan), BUT!!! (say this like it’s the Price is Right!), she has a “brand new container” on site and only a couple days from a move in. That’s right Bob, a brand new, never been lived in, ¾ scale Mobile Mini wannabe!!! It’s currently being be renovated to exacting Beanie specs. When it’s complete is will have two rooms, one bedroom and an office with tables, night stands, a wardrobe, sunroof, jacuzzi, okay, maybe no sunroof and jacuzzi. Actually, here’s an excerpt from her email, “My home is here. It is marvelous. I have to "design" the interior today. That just means figure out what and where I want KBR to build for me - desk, bookcase, wardrobe, etc. It will probably be another 2 or 3 days before I move in. They got the electrical connected last night and are working on the HVAC now.. I've got an HVAC for each room! The guy to do the furniture should be here sometime today.” I love the enthusiastic “HVAC for each room!” line. It just cracked me up.

We spoke on the phone phone for a little bit last night. I love the fact that we can chat, but sometimes it’s so hard to find the right words when you’re that far apart. That being said I’ll take a rough Beanie chat over no Beanie chat any day! Of course the other good part is Kathy is already 20% thru this entire gig. How cool is that? Of course that means I need to get on the stick and think about meeting my goals of a 32” waist line, 7 handicap golfer, and trianthlon competitor before she gets back. No worries.

One last note for this entry. Beanie has asked me to see what I can do to collect shoes for the Afghan workers on the base. It doesn’t matter if they are used or not, as long as they can provide more foot protection than no shoes!! The Afghan people are very poor and in dire need of shoes. They are not particularly large people so the smaller sizes are more popular, but any shoes can help. There are shipping boxes that you can pick up at the local Post Office that are a flat rate parcel of about $10 regardless of the weight. These boxes are specifically for our folks that are serving in these combat zones. You could probably stuff several pair into a single box. I’m trying to coordinate a shoe drive at work and maybe some of you can do the same with your church or workplace. Any shoes or sneakers you can collect and throw into one (or more!!) of these boxes and send to Kathy would really be appreciated. If you’re in the valley area, let me know and I will pick and ship any shoes you can collect. You can use Beanie’s mailing address provided below. Thanks for any assistance you can provide and call me if you have any questions or want additional info.

DCMA
FOB Fenty
ATTN: Kathy Cross (CA)
APO AE 09310

Days 25 – 29

1 Nov. I cannot believe it’s November. Hope everyone is well and had a nice Holloween. I went thru the Trick o Treat thing last night with the Bean on my mind. Lot’s of cute kids that would have cracked her up.

I last spoke with her on Thursday and conditions have not really improved. She is still living in tent city, but now the tent is full (not sure how many folks but I’m guessing it’s a 24-man tent) so the noise level is going up and the privacy level is going down.

Her container evidently never completed the 60 mile drive and currently resides in places unknown. There is supposed to be another container making its way in the coming days, but with the setup time, the Bean will be “tenting” it for the next 10 days or so at the very least. It’s not just the inconvenience of not having a place to live, the container is also provides the work area so Bean’s work area is also nonexistent. No desk, no place to plug in a computer, no work/storage space to manage your working files. Significant constraint when you’re a Contract Administrator. Phone service is also very challenging. If we get in a 10 minute chat we’ll get preempted at least twice. But then again, it's pretty nice to actually get a phone call. It's a lot better than a MARS radio patch call (LOL, yep, all you old schoolers know what I'm talking about), so I'll dial back that whine a notch or two.

She’s hanging tough, but I know she’d like to get into a better work rut (okay, routine). Some good news - she now has an official mailing address. We all know how nice it is to get a card or letter when we’re away from home, so if you can find the time to drop Kathy a line, I know she’ll appreciate it. Also understand, it may be challenging for her to get back to you in a timely manner, if at all. I think she had 184 hours on her last two-week timecard so her days are pretty full. Her snail mail address is below. A regular 1st class stamp is all the postage that is required.

DCMA
FOB Fenty
ATTN: Kathy Cross (CA)
APO AE 09310