Baghdad Beware

He’s In!!

Here is an email I just got within the last hour. The time on the message shows 9:18, so I don’t know if it took that long for hotmail to get it to me or what?

But: here it is. YEAH!!

Please keep Steve in your prayers!

This is a good thing. Yes, yes, oh yes, I’m dancing.

Nothing wrong with me that a virtual trip to Iraq can’t cure!
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I'm so sorry that I haven't been in touch, but I'm in Baghdad now. It took awhile to get here, and it was hard going, but I made it. Light up a couple of cigarettes cause I want you to be calm!! I couldn't get the security firm to come down on the price. They know people have to pay it, so they don't negotiate. There was no way I was going to pay $2,000 because it's more than I have and then I'd be broke when I got to Baghdad. So, I started asking around. I found a guy who would drive me for $500. He spoke a little English, but the guy who was the middle man spoke good English. We made a deal, and I told the guy to tell the driver that if he even thought about dumping me on the road to Baghdad or if he had any ideas about doing anything to me that I'd flat out kill him. I said I'm tired of the bullshit and I need to get to Baghdad. I told him to tell the driver exactly what I said. I told him to make sure that the driver understood that if he even acted like he was thinking about doing something to me on the road, I was going to take him out first. I'm no badass, but enough is enough. I told him to tell the driver that all I wanted was to get to Baghdad and no trouble. I bought a big knife. So, I'm here finally. I checked into a hotel in the Green Zone, and wow are they expensive here. I searched around, and $70 a night was the cheapest. I'll go ahead and stay the night, but I'm going to have to find cheaper accomodations after this. Well, I'm beat, so I'm going to get a few hours of sleep and hit the ground running in the morning. But I'm finally here. I tell you. That drive from Kuwait to Baghdad was scary. Iraq is plunging into civil war, and southern Iraq is in horrible chaos. It was a bad drive. Baghdad is going nuts, too. The Shiites and Sunnis are determined to eradicate each other, and the government is on shaky ground. We've got to get more troops here. I'll write more after I get a little sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open! But it's a good thing. I'm really excited.