Sunday, December 19, 2004
I finally got to make some balloon figures for some kids.
Many homes and apartment buildings were engulfed by the I Zone when it was created. We happened to be parked outside of a little neighborhood when a group of siblings came out to ask us for treats. I opened up my bag and found some apples, juice, and M&Ms and our driver handed up a bag of Doritos. I also had some “sculpturing” balloons. It was dark and I hadn’t worked on my repertoire in a while, so I made dogs for everyone. I had asked for balloons from home when we had been working the checkpoint at Falluja, but they arrived just a few days after we started our new mission here in the I Zone.
Though the oldest kid – about six – knew a lot of English words, a young lady who came over helped us by serving as translator. I asked her to tell the oldest one to share the M&Ms with her siblings and they, in turn, asked her to ask our names and tell us theirs. The kids, as most of them do, asked me to take their picture, below.
Though, no one here is starving, the indigenous population, like most of the world, does not take food for granted like Americans do. Apples as treats? The little guy started eating his immediately and he really enjoyed it. If you’ve seen the documentary, “Uncle Saddam”, you’ll notice that the apples I gave them are in much better shape than the one he handing to a kid. They asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. I said maybe.
Sometimes, the kids aren’t so welcome. When we were out in the Red Zone one night, some kids came up the vehicle to say hello. After some initial pleasantries, they asked me for water and I told them I wasn’t allowed to give it to them. They then knocked on the truck commander’s window, who didn’t acknowledge them, instead staring straight ahead, keeping his eyes “focused on the mission”.
Then they knocked on the driver’s window, and he, without a word, opened the door, threw some containers of leftovers on the ground, and closed the door. The action had the desired effect: the kids picked them up and walked off happily.
Kids aren't the only ones looking for treats. One of the workers in our compound showed me an empty Oreo cookie wrapper saying, “Hey mister, I need this.” So, I looked through the boxes of goodies and found a pack for him.
Many homes and apartment buildings were engulfed by the I Zone when it was created. We happened to be parked outside of a little neighborhood when a group of siblings came out to ask us for treats. I opened up my bag and found some apples, juice, and M&Ms and our driver handed up a bag of Doritos. I also had some “sculpturing” balloons. It was dark and I hadn’t worked on my repertoire in a while, so I made dogs for everyone. I had asked for balloons from home when we had been working the checkpoint at Falluja, but they arrived just a few days after we started our new mission here in the I Zone.
Though the oldest kid – about six – knew a lot of English words, a young lady who came over helped us by serving as translator. I asked her to tell the oldest one to share the M&Ms with her siblings and they, in turn, asked her to ask our names and tell us theirs. The kids, as most of them do, asked me to take their picture, below.
Though, no one here is starving, the indigenous population, like most of the world, does not take food for granted like Americans do. Apples as treats? The little guy started eating his immediately and he really enjoyed it. If you’ve seen the documentary, “Uncle Saddam”, you’ll notice that the apples I gave them are in much better shape than the one he handing to a kid. They asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. I said maybe.
Sometimes, the kids aren’t so welcome. When we were out in the Red Zone one night, some kids came up the vehicle to say hello. After some initial pleasantries, they asked me for water and I told them I wasn’t allowed to give it to them. They then knocked on the truck commander’s window, who didn’t acknowledge them, instead staring straight ahead, keeping his eyes “focused on the mission”.
Then they knocked on the driver’s window, and he, without a word, opened the door, threw some containers of leftovers on the ground, and closed the door. The action had the desired effect: the kids picked them up and walked off happily.
Kids aren't the only ones looking for treats. One of the workers in our compound showed me an empty Oreo cookie wrapper saying, “Hey mister, I need this.” So, I looked through the boxes of goodies and found a pack for him.
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