Birthdays

Yesterday it was my 39th birthday. Just another day. It was yet another in a place where birthdays are not normally celebrated. Some examples: 19 was in the field on a sunny day as a cannon crew member loading 100lb projectiles into a 155mm howitzer. 26 was at Ranger School on an extremely cold day in the mountains of Georgia hoping for an MRE chocolate chip poundcake from my ranger buddy's MRE. He had promissed it to me as a birthday cake and later renigged on the bargain. Dissapointing. 30 was spent on a C130 aircraft travelling to Kosovo via Macedonia to begin my first deployment. 31 was in the field in Hohenfels, Germany; one of the most miserable places I've ever been. Now, 39 in the glorious nation of Afghanistan.

Well, I guess I should be thankful that I know when my birthday is. I often work with the local branch manager of the Bank of Afganistan, and he brought his ATM technician in for an ID card. The technician neglected to fill out his birthday on the form. When I told him that he had to fill out his birthday, he gave me a look as if I had 50 heads. Omar, the branch manager, then told me that the tech did not know his birthday, or what his age was! I couldn't believe it. Maybe, we should all be thankful no matter how we feel about birthdays.