Letter From Iraq #05

Another week has passed and it seems like they are going very quickly.  I hope that the time continues to move along at the speed of light, which is ironic because one of the few things that can move at the speed or light or faster is time.  The nice thing is that there are things that make the time go by quickly.

One of those things that make the time go quickly occurred this week.  We had a USO concert that was held on post.  It was a country music singer named Granger Smith.  Now for those of you who listen to country music, you are probably thinking that you have never heard of this guy.  That is probably because he doesn’t have anything songs that are played on the radio.  This isn’t saying that Granger doesn’t have any good songs.

During the concert he played through several songs for all of the people in attendance.  Some of the songs that he played were just cover songs from other singers covering several genres, including pop, rock, and country.  The other songs that were sung were written and composed by Granger Smith.

The songs that were written by Granger were mostly typical of country music.  Some of the songs were a little cheesy and others could cut right to your soul.  He had a song that that a lot of the people in North Dakota, and especially in New Salem, could relate with called the Milk Cow Blues.  It’s a playful song that talks about difficulties of being a dairy farmer.  Another song that he sang that hit home was a titled Five More Minutes.  This ballad spoke about losing a loved one and what we would say to our loved ones if we could have only five more minutes with them.  In the song Granger expresses what we would all like to say if we could, “I love you.”

During the concert Granger and his band had a little fun with the crowd while giving away a few CDs.  The discs were awarded for things like youngest person in the crowd, closest to going home, and longest time on station.  After the concert Granger stayed around for a while to shake hands and speak with all of those who attended his concert.  He stayed until he had shook hands with everyone that waited in line. 

Now if anyone who is interested in country music would like to hear the music of Granger Smith there are a couple of places that it can be found.  First of all you can easily purchase the songs through Apple’s iTunes.  You can also find information about his music on his web site www.GrangerSmith.com.  As a country music fan I feel that it’s necessary to promote up and coming musicians.

Other than the concert it was a pretty dull week.  Other than the occasional mortar it has been pretty quiet.  For the most part the season of Ramadan has been quiet, but you always have to keep your head up listening for anything.

Before I depart for another week I would like to clarify something for you all.  I have received a lot of questions about the picture that is printed with this letter.  A lot of people asked me about the piece of equipment that I am standing in front of and I would like to clarify for everyone.

I am standing in front of a piece of weather equipment called a TMQ-53.  This equipment is used for observing the weather as it happens.  This piece of equipment can tell us if there are clouds moving over the area or if it is raining.  It also has a sensor that will indicate the winds speed and direction and another that will give a general idea of the visibility. 

I hope that this clears a few things up for everyone.  If you have any questions that they would like to ask or would just like to say Hi you can send an email to me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.

Until we meet again, Have a Great Air Force Day!