A Visit with a Soldier

Last weekend Jim was home. Jim is my husband's cousin who is currently serving in the National Guard. Since August, he has been in Iraq, working on the wrecker crew, keeping the roads clear.

He actually lives about two hours north of us, but he took time out during this short leave to visit with my in-laws. It was good to see him and his family.

Jim and I have always picked on each other. We have these little verbal wars that usually are a lot of fun (for me) because I'm used to having to fight this kind of battle. My oldest brother made very sure that I would never let a little teasing get the best of me--mostly through constant exposure. However, I get the feeling that Jim never quite developed thick enough skin to handle a good burn. He plays along, but a couple of years ago I started realizing that Jim really thinks I don't like him.

That's not true at all. Jim is the kind of lovable red-neck you can't help but like. He's done some pretty stupid things in his time, but he's also a good father and a loyal and patriotic soldier. He's been through a lot during his young life and I have a lot of respect for him.

For one thing, I grew up in a loving two-parent home. Jim's mom left when he was a small child and his father re-married a woman who really doesn't like kids. As a result, Jim ended up spending his teen years living in a variety of homes. He lived with my in-laws for awhile, with his grandmother, and in an odd twist, with my sister-in-law's parents. He's had it rough. But at the same time, he's also been raised with a "Poor-Jim" kind of attitude. He thinks that if you don't subscribe to the "Poor-Jim" philosophy and thereby handle him gently, that you must hate him. I have thereby made a promise to myself to lay off the insults when he is around. Now, if I just had something to talk to him about.

Thankfully, he brought pictures with him. He was showing us some of the wrecks he's cleaned up and what it's like over there. One picture was of a Mountain Dew truck. He said that the soldiers were all mad over that one. Evidently, they didn't get Mountain Dew for a couple of weeks after that. One picture was an overturned truck that appeared to have been hauling some kind of concrete pillar. The pillar was huge. He kept saying that the explosive used to blow up that truck must have been massive just to move that heavy concrete like it did. He had pictures of Iraqi children. He says that they come to the gates everyday begging for candy or money. He said if you don't give them something, they often curse you. He explained that the police in that part of the world don't believe in police brutality. If you get on their nerves, they just shoot you. It was all very interesting.

Lewis asked him if he thought that they were making any progress over there. His answer was, "Yes, and no." I think that's probably about the most accurate thing I've heard said about this whole mess.

I believe in the war effort. I believe that we are doing some good over there. But I also believe that there are people there that will never be reached. They will never accept the changes that we are trying to implement. Some of them will cling to an old way of life, not because it was better, but because it is familiar. Time is the only thing that will prove to them what freedom really means. Let us hope that we are willing to give enough time to make that happen.