First dispatch

My brother's been in Iraq for about a week. He emailed a few of us to say it was sunny and hot but that the officers are trying to make it more comfortable for the troops by rotating shifts in air conditioning and getting them lobster, prime rib, and crab for dinner. Weird.

He seems to be working at some sort of traffic checkpoint. I really need to stop following the news.

And then there’s the mercenary from Nepal that walks around freely with his AK-47.

Ah....These emails will probably do enough to my nerves, simultaneously soothing by their arrival and rattling with content like that. I can barely imagine how parents and spouses do this.