Stealth

This week we got a taste of the weather to come.  It has been in the 90’s during the day all week long, with a bright, clear sky on most days (a couple days there was a haze that I am pretty sure was just dust).  I love the heat, I know I grew up in the cold northeast but I must be getting old before my time because I hate the cold.  A couple days this week I just sat outside for a bit to warm up my blood like a reptile.  I ran outside a couple evenings to get a good sweat going.  I enjoyed walking from one place to another and having my long-sleeved woodland green uniform radiate heat when I stepped back inside an air conditioned tent.  Of course as I write this the loudspeaker on the base issued a lightning warning so I guess there must be a front coming through.  Bummer.

Although I drive to pretty much every other American base there is in Kuwait I have yet to set foot in Kuwait City.  I get that opportunity tomorrow when I take part in a Morale, Welfare and Recreation trip to the Kuwait National Museum.  Some Arab nations have tried to build up a tourist trade (Bahrain certainly, as has United Arab Emirates with Dubai and Abu Dhabi ), but that is not the case so much here in Kuwait so there isn't a whole lot to see.  MWR has this trip, a trip to the Grand Mosque and one to the War Museum, where I am told that the Kuwait role in the expulsion of Iraq from here is embellished quite a bit.  Because that isn't much to choose from, all of the trips tie in a visit to a mall.  I think it is safe to say that even on my best day I am not a mall-type guy, but I am actually looking forward to this trip.  I don't want to buy anything or shop at all, I kind of just want to sit at a cafe somewhere in civilian clothes and hang out.  I won't be able to look closely at about half the people that walk by, but it will still be fun to sit.

MWR tries very hard to keep the troops happy with multiple events for every occasion.  There aren't many Irish expats running around Kuwait but we still had celebrations throughout Camp Arifjan on Saturday and Sunday.  We had a Navy cookout that included a visit from a leprechaun; he was pretty horrified by my mustache.  The whole shaved head/mustache experiment has been very, very interesting.  Lots of people don't recognize me at all, particularly those that don't see me for a day or so or that only know me in a particular context, like when I am in my uniform talking or when I am playing softball on the Navy team.  In the past people would see me walking around the berthing areas or in the dining facility and be able to recognize me out of uniform or off the field, but now they can't.  I bet I would be a good undercover agent.