Anyone ever heard of Mauritania?

Swaziland? Of course. It's a tiny little country within the boundary of South Africa. How about Morocco? Everybody knows of Morocco. Even some of the lesser known countries in Africa sound familiar...Namibia, Malawi, Guinea, Chad, Togo. But Mauritania? Nope. Not in the memory banks. And it isn't little, even small, by African standards. Medium large-sized and on the Western Coast. Actually, it's the world's 29th-largest country, after Bolivia. Am I the only one unfamiliar with this country? Well, now I know. The things we learn when helping our kids study!

What's happening to Gunner?

He looks like the same boy, sounds like the same boy, but something's definitely different.

Example 1: We had to swing by Arizona Mills mall the other day on the way home from school to look for a homecoming dress for Lauren. They're still in uniform, which makes a difference since we were entering the world of hip hop and punk. Gunner is not comfortable in this situation. Nonetheless, after providing some food, he was pretty patient. He bought a book at the Border's outlet and even donated a couple dollars (of his own money!) to the domestic violence shelter. Lauren wasn't successful until we happened to notice ONE MORE store on our way out of the mall. Gunner sighed heavily when we veered into shop. He had brought along some Lit/Comp homework (at my instruction) just in case, leaned against the counter and read his homework. Lauren found about five or six dresses to try on, but you know that we had to look at ALL the dresses to find those. As she tried on the dresses, Gunner and I sat on stools to wait. The fashion show began. Do you like this one? What do you think of this one? I love this one but can we change the hem? Gunner dutifully gave his opinion on each dress. When it came down to two, he gave his opinion one more time. His opinion mattered and we walked away with a dress, a happy girl and a patient, involved brother. WHAT?

Example 2: THE NEXT DAY we all trooped off to Urban Outfitters for shoes to match the homecoming dress, in school uniforms again, and after already waiting at the MVD for Lauren to take her driver permit test. Gunner was impatient so he and I walked down Mill Avenue, past all the street kids, to Mojo for some frozen yogurt. (It must be the time of year, but I thought the selection of 'Corpse Bride' as the movie to play for customers was a little hard to take while eating my yogurt.) When we got back to Urban Outfitters, Lauren was just about ready to go into the dressing room (no shoes, but so many other things to try on!) and Gunner was starting to show his usual signs of shopping weariness. He decided he'd go upstairs and look at the guy clothes. A bit later he calls me on my cell to tell me he's found the shoes he's been wanting. A little after that he calls to say he's found some "skinny" jeans and could he pay for one if I pay for the other. WHAT? I send his sister up to check out the jeans, knowing she'll steer him away if they look too crazy. I'm thinking his build is not right for skinny jeans. Luckily, they're just straight, not skin tight. He paid for his own shoes with his own money. He said it felt good to buy his own clothes. Now he was all set for the girl's birthday party he was going to the next night. Left with happy girl, happy boy and good stuff for both. This is weird.

Example 3: Then yesterday, after an extremely busy weekend, we were driving to the school picnic and they mentioned that Matthew wanted to go to a movie at the dollar theater later that evening. Hmm, I guess if all your homework is done (knowing it was unlikely) by the time you have to leave, that would be okay.

On the way home from the picnic, Gunner says, "I think we should call Matthew and tell him we should schedule it for next weekend, when we haven't been so busy." WHAT? I don't expect this from him. It would take a bulldozer to keep him from doing something with Matthew. He asked me to quiz him on the geographical features of Africa and then I checked his homework agenda. Did you do this? This? Yep, to all. How about these four math problems? Do you want me to see if I can figure them out? No, I'm saving those to go over with the teacher during tutoring. WHAT? How about we look over the Latin reading for tomorrow? Okay. OKAY? No protest? So we go through it. He heads to bed before 10:30.

Example 4: He was ready before Lauren this morning. And he got the BMW started to move it out of the way of the POD. I couldn't get the car to accept the security code right, apparently. He even agreed to listen to something other than the Beatles, Wolfmother, Dear and the Headlights or Weezer this morning. What is going on?  I can't decide. Being 14? Being the "man" of the house? His allergy drops are clearing his sinuses?Some synapse in the deep, dark recesses of his brain decided to fire?

Example 5: I asked him to do something and he said, "Aye, aye captain." SERIOUSLY? What happened to no, hold on and all those other response that mean are you kidding me?

I think it's because we finally made an appointment to have him tested for ADHD/ADD and possible learning disorders. Nothing like having everything working great when you take it to the mechanic. No really, it was making this awful grinding noise. Right here, whenever I did this.

The Best Treat Ever...Well, Almost.

Something isn't right with the "iTreadmill" application I have for my iPhone. Tonight I walked further, and it read shorter! That really isn't fair.

From nine walks, I'm up to 17.46 miles. It should be closer to 90 miles. Sure feels like it. Last night I ventured out in a driving rain. The last three nights I've added push-ups and sit-ups. First, 20 each. Then, 25. Tonight, 30. My routine is I walk halfway, turn unto a concrete pad that has a canon on it, do my push-ups and sit-ups, then complete the other half. It clears my mind and gives me some alone time.

Unfortunately, tonight I was really hungry by the 1 mile point. By 1.5 I was getting stomach pains, I was so hungry. By 2.0 I was dizzy and thinking of sweets. Finally, just before 2.5 miles, I was crawling on my hands and knees dreaming of anything with mega-sugar in it... maybe I exagerate just a tiny bit.


Anyway, when I finally staggered back to my room, I scoured my food supplies for anything sweet. Mixed nuts - nope. Though there were 3 raisins in the bag. Protein bars - Ha, not even real sugar.

Then, my eyes spied the Halloween bag that Tyler's girlfriend, Natalie, had mailed last week. Yep, I'm "ROOMIE 1" (see the pic). Inside, nestled deep in the bottom of the orange bag was an envelope labeled "Eat at your own risk!" Yes, the super, secret envelope was even sealed. Must be something bad. I peeled the envelope open and spied it...No, I sniffed it (Just like Gunner). Actually, I spent several seconds sniffing it (Now that's really just like Gunner). No sense in diving right in. There it was, the treat of my dreams. A real, live 4 inch diameter, 1/4 inch thick, 36 chip, 100 carat, 200 calorie, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE!!! Hastily, I started to devour it then realized NO. I need to document this historic moment. Thus, the picture.


So there it is in the picture. A half-eaten cookie nicely posed on my bunk next to the it's mother ship, the "Roomie 1" Halloween bag. I told Tyler to pass on to Natalie how happy the cookie made me. It's the greatest sweet ever... No, wait a minute. There's something even better. Much better. Much bigger... and bigger is better. I faintly remember a humongous, double-layer, 32-slice, double-bagged-for-freshness, special for me only, USPS special delivery bag of CHOCOLATE BROWNIES! Those were the best sweets ever. Too bad I devoured them before I even thought of taking a picture. They were sooooo goooood!!!!!

How do we cope with stressful situations?

Dearest Lauren and Gunner, please read that question above and consider it carefully.

One day last week I was riding in a 15-passenger van back from the hospital in the late afternoon. It was well past lunch time so we were all anxious to get home. We had just spent most of the day getting poked and prodded by doctors and nurses and technicians. They were only doing their job; just making sure we were healthy enough to be sent into a war zone. In the van were other pilots from my unit and a couple privates who wanted to catch a ride back to their rooms. Soldiers in the military have many ways of coping with unfamiliar pressures. Most crack jokes, complain about everything, and do anything they can to take their mind off their loneliness and apprehension at going to dangerous places. Instead of going straight back to the barracks, the van made a few side stops to take care of some other business. A young, female private curled up in a ball on the seat next to me not-so-politely complained, "When are we going back to the barracks? I'm confined to quarters since I've been throwing up the past few days and I'm starving." That throwing-up part really got our attention, and as Soldiers will do, they made fun of her illness.

Now, for the most part, I try to be quiet and stay out of the fun-making, but for some reason I couldn't help myself. "Must be the baby," I quipped. Eyes shot looks of surprise at me. CW3 Pedersen never makes fun of anybody, much less saying something so outrageous! Okay, I overstepped my bounds. The female private shrugged off the dumb comment and curled up even tighter. She reminded me of a pill bug. You know, a roly-poly. An isopod (Yes, I remember weird things from Biology.)

"Okay, I feel terrible about making fun of you like that. Especially, like that. I insist on buying you something to eat. And no, you can't say no. Driver, pull into that Burger King." Well, since I have a considerable amount of seniority, the driver did as I ordered. Through the drive-thru we went... and you know how I hate drive-thrus. "Order anything you want. I'm buying," I offered. The "pill bug" perked right up. "Let me see. I'll have the #6 combo meal with large fries and a large Sprite," she said. The driver repeated the order, and we rolled up to the window. Out the window went my $20 bill; back in came a 10 and some ones. "Oh, I didn't know they had milk shakes," said the ravenous roly-poly. "Might as well," I said and back out the window went all my ones. One of the lieutenants in the van looked at me and rolled his eyes. The roly-poly was obviously getting her moneys worth out of my guilt trip.

Later, we finally pulled up into the parking lot in front of our barracks. The pillbug stopped stuffing fries in her mouth long enough to stumble out of the van and promptly spill her Sprite. Oh well, at least she had a shake left. She seemed to be coping with her hunger pains quite well. But that isn't the end of the story.

Two days later, we heard a loud knock on our door at 0500; that's 5:00 am, Oh-dark-thirty. "What?" "Everyone up right now. Get a uniform on. Head down to the day room. And don't go to the bathroom," ordered a stern lieutenant. You've probably heard of such things. A surprise urine test! Yes, we were all getting drug tested. The samples are screened for marijuana, barbituates, etc.

Seems some Soldier in the battalion had overdosed the day before. The Soldier was going to live but life would get extra hard for the rest of us. Worse yet, the soldier had the same last name as the roly-poly. I won't repeat her name here. You never know who might know her. Seems she OD'd on something much worse than the drugs I mentioned before. She chose one of the worst - cocaine. That explained her throwing up and other sicknesses. How anyone who volunteers to come into the military can chose to throw away all that effort is beyond me. Her life is now in ruins. She'll be forced out of the Army soon, but not before she loses all her pay, goes to prison for at least the length of our deployment, and is given a dishonorable discharge (which should make getting another job very difficult). Her family back in Arizona will be shocked and humiliated. She'll return a complete failure.

So we all have ways to cope with the stress of this deployment. Me? I read and pray alot. Much more than I ever did before. And especially I think of all the things I'll miss doing with both of you these 400 days. Picking you up after school. Shooting. Shopping. Going to football games. Teaching Lauren to drive a BMW stick shift. Going to church. Driving you and your friends anywhere so you can hang out with quality people. Giving you mini-lectures on life (Sorry, couldn't leave that one out.)

I can only pray that God, Mommy, and good friends will pick up where I have abandoned you, albeit for a noble cause. Please make good decisions in your lives. It's your life, but I feel the pain of your stress and the joy of your success. I love you more than you know and miss you both, my dearest Lauren and Gunner.

Getting to know Oklahoma

Along with all the snazzy new olive drab and tan stuff Chris has received over the last few weeks, he decided to add a new "all-terrain troop transport vehicle" (ATTV). Not your run-of-the-mill Army issue "ATTV," either. His are black and grey!

He's keeping to his walking schedule for fitness and sanity. And that's when he gets his wildlife (and livestock) sightings, too. Just to prove what wildlife nerds we really are, he has his "Birds of the Middle East" book packed with all his Iraq gear. We're all looking forward to his photos of Iraqi wildlife (sand scorpions?). Especially Gunner.

Fort Sill, OK

400 days. That's how long my orders say I'll be deployed to Oklahoma, Kuwait, and Southern Iraq. Hopefully, this blog will entertain us all and make the time go faster.

On 6 Oct 2009, our flight of 10 Blackhawk helicopters left Phoenix. Yeh, I almost got to blow over a Channel 3 reporter and camerman who thought they'd get an "up close & personal" report. Good fun. We flew to Gallup, NM (fuel stop), then Las Vegas, NM (more fuel and pizza for lunch...yuck), then Amarillo, TX (more fuel), then finally to Ft Sill, OK which is south of Oklahoma City, a total of 7 flight hours.

Over the last 7 days, our Arizona Army National Guard unit has received new clothing and equipment, spent one day of medical exams (where a very masculine, female(?) flight surgeon circled my medical folder as "No-Go". She (he?) took an inordinate amount of glee in telling this old(er) pilot that his hearing was bad... but we already knew that. I felt like I was kicked in the gut. They were going to pull me out, ground me, and kick me out of the Guard. Luckily, I was rescued by our own AZ flight surgeon who magically produced a Hearing Waiver for me). Also, so far we've learned how to get out of a rolled over Humvee (which is interesting but requires a Kevlar helmet, shoulder & knee pads), and flown exactly 1 day. I learned an iPhone can track even from the air and can display a satellite map. Pretty nice. Thanks, Linda, for the going-away gift. It's fast becoming indispensible.

So what's a typical Army day like? We wake up at 5:30 am, ride a bus to breakfast (cafeteria-style) in a big, white mobile tent-like building, ride a bus to the airfield, go to classes, ride a bus to lunch, ingest more calories, ride a bus back to the airfield, attend classes on helicopter stuff, then, you guessed it, ride another bus to supper, eat even more calories, then ride a bus back to our rooms. More often, than not we have more classes at night and get done around 9:00 pm.

When we don't have night classes, I go for a power walk to clear my head and take pictures of interesting sites, like Staff Sergeant Big Deuce VI, an Army donkey, and Corporal Shortround IV, an Army goat. Big Deuce has lost stripes for pooping on the parade route. Once, the donkey was charged with an Article 15 (Court Martial) for chewing off the ear of the goat! Lucky, the donkey got off on a technicality or he'd be out of the Army. By the way, both receive a military paycheck to cover expenses and vet bills.

There, now you know what it's like to be in a deploying Army Aviation unit going to Iraq. Two full months of riding buses and eating in the big, white tent. I'll be car sick and weigh close to 300 pounds! (Photos to follow once I figure out how to transfer them to the blog from the iPhone.)

I try to say morning and evening prayers most days, miss my Orthodox friends more than I ever imagined, call my family every day, and have a new best friend... the iPhone! Speaking of friends, later I'll tell you about my roommates. They're absolutely crazy.

What happened next? We ate.

After Chris took off, the rest of us flew to Gommie and PaLo's in Albuquerque, ate homemade pies (cherry and lemon meringue), cookies and much many more good foods. Yum, how much we need to exercise now! We bought Gunner new jeans on sale (woo hoo) and didn't shop with Lauren at all (unheard of but she was sick the first part of the visit). We drove up to the Jemez Mountains, boys in the truck and girls in the car, and saw beautiful yellow leaves on the cottonwoods and aspens. We hiked to Jemez Falls and looked for elk in an immense caldera, but they were resting in the shade somewhere. And, of course, watched birds and walked in the favorite neighborhood on the other side of the park. Oh, and don't forget the three-night-long dominoes tournament where Gunner started strong, Lauren surged ahead, and Gommie prevailed. Yes, I played too, but we're not talking about that.

Now we're back to work and school and trying to get into a schedule. It's not easy but we're working at it. God be with us and with you.

ls

One week down!

One week down, only 56 to go! No, I'm not going to count off every week here, but it's a good starting place. Let's see, we watched "the take-off" on October 6th at 7 a.m., a very exciting and proud moment. Watch the Channel 3 video and see Chris wave and salute from the pilot seat in the 10th (last) helicopter when the camera pans back. After all the anxious moments and build up, we were finally at the moment of departure, and when they took off into the rising sun, it seemed all right.

After they took off, they turned left at Scottsdale Road and McDowell and flew up to north Scottsdale to buzz a hospital where one of their fellow pilots was recovering from surgery. He was very upset at not being able to go with them. Chris' helicopter came in over the hospital lower than the others, just to let him know they were serious about the fly by. Along the way, our friend Suzy Dodds was waving from St. Daniel church parking lot with a bus load of new friends and paper letters taped to the top of their van: ZAPS "heart" CHRIS. Another great Suzy adventure! As the helicopters flew over Santa Fe, Chris texted Fr. John Bethancourt to say "hi."

Since then, it's been one exciting day after the next for Chris. Maybe he'll tell us about his new friends Popsicle, Corporal Shortround IV and Staff Sgt Big Deuce VI.

ls

Deployment

(aka Photo Opportunities). There were lots of photo opportunities leading up to Chris' departure, but sadly we aren't in the habit of bringing the camera along. I would get it as far as the car and then when it was time to get out and go to an event, I would be thinking only of taking as little as possible. My brain can't handle calculus problems anymore, either. Sorry, Lauren.

Anyway, since we're trying to get the hang of the blog, I'm going to attempt to post some photos that we took on Chris' handy dandy new iPhone next to one of the Black Hawk helicopters on Saturday, October 1 at the battalion barbeque. Sorry about the sunglasses - we were looking right into the sun.

The Year Begins

The journey began long ago, but this year's chapter will unfold in text and images instead of side-by-side as witnesses to each other's lives. God is with us and we will follow Him and rely on Him through it all.
ls