The Greatest Story Ever Told

Setting: Andrew Romick is sitting in an old wooden rocking chair in the comfort of his living room. He is sipping Brandy, smoking a cigar, and watching The Weather Channel. The fireplace is lit with cinnamon candles lit all throughout the room heightening everybody’s senses. Andrew is setting the mood for one of the greatest stories ever told; the story that changed his life. Andrew is surrounded by his aging wife, Celia, they're 2 children and 6 grandchildren. All are sitting, eagerly starring at Andrew as he strokes his foot long white beard. Methodically thinking about the proper word selection to begin this tale a sudden peace overcomes Andrew. Then, as if Moses himself spoke, the story began.

Andrew: As all of you know, I have lived an extraordinary life. One filled with many stories beyond the wildest of imaginations. It has long been a mystery to everybody I’ve encountered throughout the course of my life, what in fact, the greatest moment in my astonishing life has been. With many stories to choose from I personally feel this tale is a story of epic proportions; rivaling Odysseus in the Odyssey and surpassing Jack and Rose’s blossoming love on the sinking Titanic. With my current health situation taking a turn for the worse, I have come to accept that I am not getting any younger, and that I will in fact, die.

Celia: (Sobbing) Oh Andrew!

Andrew: It's ok my dear. I said all of that because I do not want to die without sharing the greatest story ever told about my life. This story is not something I could make up, it is also the source of many people's envy. This is the greatest moment of my life. The date was October 4, 1994, and I had just turned 13.

(Silence) Andrew pauses and takes a sip of his Brandy while continuing to stroke his beard.

Andrew: With my 7th grade football team trailing late in the 4th quarter to Colfax-Mingo, it looked to be just another brick in the wall of what was shaping up to be a very, very dismal football season. We had a sputtering offense and a defense that had more holes in it than the underwear I’m currently wearing.

Jadon: Dad, I. . .

_ Andrew raises his hand in silence and shoots a glare to his oldest son, Jadon, reminding him to never, ever, interrupt greatness.

--The grandchildren look to have seen a ghost as they swear fire is coming out of their grandfather's mouth. The normal a loving, caring, and gentle grandpa they have come to know and love is not present on this evening. Andrew is so passionate, tense, and there’s something mysterious, yet compelling to the story that the grandchildren know now is not the time for questions nor potty breaks.

Andrew: I was only in 7th grade; however, I played as if I was an 8th grader. I was a silky smooth, 5 foot tall, unstoppable wide receiver from Monroe, IA with a pair of hands the scouts had never seen. Quite frankly put, I was "it."

With about 90 seconds left in the game and our team trailing by 4 points, we found ourselves pinned on our own 35 yard line facing the dreaded 4th & long. My coaches, Mr. Wing and Mr. Hill, incredibly wise beyond their years, decided to go into their bag of tricks and pull out a gadget play. (Andrew chuckles to himself) Gadget plays were my bread and butter. The play in question was going to put the outcome of the game solely on my shoulders; this would be my moment!

---- Everybody is now on the edge of their seats as they can not believe this implausible story they are hearing. They were in the presence of glory, hearing the story of all stories, directly from the source himself.

Andrew: It was carefully designed play. The quarterback, Adam Putz, would pitch the ball to the tailback, Jacob Talley, Jacob was to fake like he's running the ball to the outside but hold up short of the line of scrimmage. Jacob would sell the run and at the last second throw the ball downfield to the man you see before you tonight. The play was called, “28 sweep halfback pass” but to the 7th grade PCM football team, and to the 85 people in attendance, the play was known as, “Salvation.”

The play was executed to perfection. All the defenders bit on the run leaving me wide open 30 yards down field. I caught the ball and glided like a gazelle another 30 yards into the end zone, securing the victory. My head was spinning trying to fully comprehend what I had just accomplished. Everybody on both sides knew who I was. It sheer ecstasy, and every day since then I have been trying to get myself back to that feeling. It has been a long 60 years knowing I will never be able to live another day as grand as that windy October afternoon. I feel with that accomplishment, I have earned my place among the immortals. Damn, I was good!

--There is an awkward silence in the room.

Jadon: You can't possibly be serious Dad?

Andrew: Oh I am. And now you all know the greatest moment of my life.

Jadon: Seriously Dad! What about marrying Mom? Hailey and I? The birth of your grandkids? That steak you made last weekend? You mean none of those rival a meaningless Pee-Wee Football catch?.

--Andrew now stands up, grabs his bottle of Brandy and begins to walk out of the room.

Andrew: You watch your tone young man. It wasn’t Pee-Wee, it was 7th grade, and you forget I played like an 8th grader. If any of you would care to join me in my study I’ll be sipping my Brandy while reliving that transcendent day on VHS. Now, I may finally go in peace.

--- Andrew sees himself in a mirror but the reflection returned is not of an aging man summoning death, but instead of a 13 year old football prodigy.

Andrew: (Winking at himself) Damn, you were good!

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Fantasy Football

The other day while I was at work I was talking with a co-worker, Doug. It was meaningless talk everybody engages in prior to the end of the workday; dinner, kids, T.V., the game, etc. Our conversation centered on what we would do for the evening once we could unwind for the day. Doug told me he couldn't wait to get home to play "Farmville" on Facebook to which I quickly replied, "Seriously? You really need a woman." A few seconds passed and I followed my statement up with, "Truthfully, I shouldn't be so quick to judge. I spend all of my time doing Fantasy Football crap." What's the difference between the two? Nothing. What's the appeal about Fantasy Football? I don't know. What do I get if I win my league? Nothing. So why do I play fantasy football? Again, I don't know. For one reason or another though I cannot break away from this time consuming addiction.

I decided to start my own league this year after taking a one year hiatus from the world of fantasy. I encountered a mild hindrance during last football season called Iraq which severely restricted any possibility of having a halfway legit team. Following my one year break I came back stronger than ever, with a vengeance, much like Jordan did after his first retirement (AKA his ban from basketball for gambling). I devoted countless hours that easily could have been spent on pampering my wife or playing with my children but, as a coach, sacrifices needed to be made. (Ok I need to insert this now. I am loading this with satire so try to keep your head straight.)

That reminds me of this video I saw on The Onion. I subscribe to a wide variety of podcast that are downloaded almost daily for my Zune, one of them happens to be of The Onion. If you are not familiar with The Onion then I suppose it could be described as an "alternate" news agency. Well one of the breaking stories of the day was a sports story, which I have so graciously attached. Tom Coughlin, the head coach of the New York Giants had decided to officially retire from his family to spend more time with his team. Check it out.

After I had concluded my research I attempted to find a league that appeared to suit my personality and love for football. After browsing through a couple hundred league names it dawned on me that in order to properly feed my fantasy addiction I would need to create my own league; so I did just that. I thought for a few minutes on what to name my league. Ideas like "Romo's a Homo" and "Crucify Favre" crossed my mind but I felt obligated to trash not just Peyton Manning, but his younger, uglier brother too. I chose a more simplistic name; one that I thought would appeal to a wide range of fans. "Manning Haters" with my team name fittingly, "Mannings' Suck!"

As it stands this moment, my record is 4-3 but should actually be 5-1; the flipside is it could easily be 1-5 too. I'd like to think my hours spent scouting, reading ESPN, and listening to preseason fantasy podcast contributed to my, for lack of a better word, "success" this season. The thing I don't understand though is why I love Fantasy Football so much. My wife would say it's because I like football and it brings me one step closer to the game, in a sense reliving my 7^th grade glory year. Before the season started I asked Celia if she wanted to be a part of the fantasy craze; to my dismay she initially agreed to. She pulled a chair next to the computer and asked me what she had to do as I briefly explained to her some of what I have just written. She saw the name of the league was "Manning Haters" and in typical girl fashion, backed out of her verbal commitment.

"I like the ESPN commercials that Peyton and Eli Manning did. He (Peyton) was also funny on that Saturday Night Live thing so I don't want to be any part of this," sighed Celia.

It worked out for the best. Had Celia decided to join the league and developed the passion that I possess then my team's performance perhaps would have suffered. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways!

Back to my initial question of why do I love Fantasy Football so much. Fantasy football embraces the one thing I hate about the NFL and is the sole reason why I love college football so much more, individualism. College football is beautiful because it is team oriented. Professional sports are the furthest thing from a "collective good of the group." As I wrote in my previous blog about Tim Tebow, with free agency controlling the game, unless you are a die-hard fan you most likely cannot keep up with all of the transactions. However, in the world of Fantasy Football all I root for is individuals. Check this out.

I love the Green Bay Packers and I hate the Minnesota Vikings. Next week Minnesota visits Green Bay, when Brett Favre walks into Lambeau part of me wants to see him get punched in the face by a drunken fan. Would that be totally out of line? Sure. How about completely justified with a parade thrown in that man's honor? Absolutely! What do you think security would do if every fan in Lambeau pelted Brett with hot dogs and beer? Don't answer that.

Could you imagine Michael Jordan suiting up for the Pistons in the 90's or Walter Payton lining up for the Packers? Something of that magnitude I was sure would be the end of civilization as we know it. That's what has happened this season. Ok, the point I'm trying to make is this. I want Brett Favre to get food poisoning with a severe case of diarrhea that would restrict any ability of producing a good game. The only kick in the balls is the best receiver Minnesota has, Sidney Rice, is starting on my fantasy team. So while I want Green Bay to win, convincingly, I need Sidney Rice to accumulate a few stats along the way to help me win my 4^th straight.

Do you see how wrong that is? Why in the hell should I ever root for an individual over a team? I don't know but I do it week in and week out. The other part about fantasy that I don't understand is why I subject myself to something that causes me to worry at the same time producing small amounts of stress. As soon as the opening games kickoff I'm monitoring two different websites to see how my individual players are doing. Whatever happened to just watching football for the sake of watching football? (Why am I asking so many rhetorical questions?)

The bottom line, Fantasy Football is a crap shoot. You have no idea how a given player is going to perform and for the love of God if your top two draft picks (I'm looking at you LaDainian Tomlinson and Kurt Warner) don't perform you want to key their car and go Robert De Niro in The Fan.

I love football and will never grow tired of watching football. While I have many frustrations regarding Fantasy Football I would venture to say there is a betting chance I'll be back again next year.

I do want to say one last time that it will be perfectly legal, and justified if somebody punches Brett Favre in the face prior to kickoff!

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Tim Tebow

I love college football. I've loved football for as long as I can remember. Honestly, I would have to say I enjoy college football more than the NFL. It's more pure, salaries and free agency don't alter rosters yearly, and the name on the front of the uniform stands for much more than the name on the back of the jersey. The things that do bother me about college football I typically can overlook; things such as the inability to determine a true champion, Pete Carroll's NFL roster, or Lee Corso. What I can never get over and what always sends me into a pissed off 5 minute monologue is the media covering the SEC and in particularly Tim Tebow. Allow me to explain.

I don't have a problem with Tim Tebow. In fact, if Tim Tebow played for Iowa State I would most likely think he was the greatest player to ever play football. Unfortunately for Tim, he doesn't play for Iowa State; he plays for Florida in the SEC. What I have a problem with is the media and their obsession with Tim Tebow. For years we have heard how Tim Tebow is, putting it mildly, and the greatest walking creature since Jesus Christ himself.

Really though, how could the media not love a guy like Tim Tebow? It has been well documented his years of missionary work done with his father. Tim was home schooled and never subjected himself to the vile and corruption of everyday public schools. With such a strong upbringing Tim continues to live by his Christian values claiming he has never had sex, instead saving himself for marriage. That'd be great, if it were true. Tim's the starting quarterback at the University of Florida – Google "Tim Tebow's Girlfriend" need I really say more? However, in case we the public chose not to love Tebow on our own accord, the fine folks of ESPN took it upon themselves to launch a special documentary on Tim Tebow entitled "The Chosen One." Recognizing Tim had already achieved Sainthood, ESPN assumed that we, the ignorant misinformed public, needed a small shove in the proper direction of salvation.

Tim Tebow can do no wrong. In order to properly show the appreciation Tim deserves he has already won the Heisman trophy for the year, everybody else is simply competing for 2^nd place. For arguments sake, if the starting quarterback of the Colorado Buffalos played the exact same game against the exact same team (Hypothetically: 17-29 for 192 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT) a week before or after Tim Tebow, who do you think the media would say had a better game? It's a rhetorical question. However, let me take this one step further.

I'm not a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, not in the least bit. However, what I can do is give credit when credit is due. Last night, Iowa defeated Michigan State, on the road, by a score of 15-13. Iowa scored the go-ahead touchdown with no time on the clock to improve their record to 8-0. If the Florida Gators had been losing 13-9 and received the ball with less than two minutes remaining on the clock, what would the reaction from the media have been like had Tim Tebow delivered the game winning pass? It would have catapulted Tim to the top of the Heisman list, even though he's already there, and that play would have been heralded as his Heisman defining moment. Every ESPN and CBS employee would hand their daughters over to Tim Tebow and we would be asked to take an hour out of our Sunday to reflect on Tim Tebow and how this magnificent man has affected all of our lives. The game winning replay would have been rebroadcasted at least 5 times on a 60 minute episode of Sportscenter and ESPN Classic would claim it to be an instant classic, with an encore viewing scheduled the next day. Am I saying that Ricky Stanzi is now a Heisman quarterback? No I'm not, not in the least bit. What I'm saying is I'm sick and tired of the obsession and infatuation with Tim Tebow.

Not since Peyton Manning played for the University of Tennessee have we seen the media love a college player this much. The love Peyton received is nowhere near to the level Tim is shown. Look, I'm not saying I have a problem with Tim Tebow; I have a problem with the way our sports stations are presenting themselves. We are witnessing history as an unprecedented level of ass kissing is continuing to reach new heights every Saturday afternoon. How much longer can this charade possibly continue? I know I'm not alone; I know there's an 83% chance anybody outside of the SEC feels the same way I do.

Finally, does anybody want to bet any money that Tim Tebow does not win the Heisman? Even after yesterday's poor performance would you bet against Tebow? Tebow won the Heisman before the season even started and it's a shame too.

In closing: The Iowa State Cyclones, 18 ½ point underdogs, on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers pull the upset. GO CYCLONES!!!!!

***Any questions, comments, or suggestions can be emailed to me at adromick@gmail.com or simply post a comment.***

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Time to Move On

I really haven't written anything good for more than a month now. I had my eye surgery which prevented me from devoting a significant period of time to writing anything and once my eyes were healed I fell out of my routine of writing. Sure, I wrote the day after my 28th birthday but that felt more forced as opposed to a general urge to write. I'm hoping with writing this I'll get my rhythm back to putting out something halfway decent to read about once a week again, most likely on Sunday. Sunday is generally the day I have the most free time on my hands as the NFL doesn't kick off until 7:00 p.m. Germany time. I also like to limit myself to about one a week because I feel the quality of the writing and the originality improves. So, do me this solid and continue reading what I have on my mind today.

A couple of weeks ago I started a new job. That is the nature of the Army, you never stay in one spot for too long. The question wasn't if I would change jobs it was more of a when. I knew my time for change would be coming; in fact I knew it from the time I got back from Iraq. I knew it was going to be a bittersweet moment. I was a Platoon Leader, which many feel, myself included, is one of the best jobs you can hold in the Army. No longer would I be in such a rewarding position but it also came at a time when almost everybody I worked with was moving on.

I found out weeks before the move that I would move to the S3 shop, which is the operational side of the battalion. Many people dread moving to a staff position; I think those people view it as an identity loss. Before you move to a staff position you have a sense of importance and power. The closer you work with Soldiers themselves the more enjoyable and rewarding the job is. This is what was told to me by multiple sources prior to moving and also happens to be my belief now too.

The things you hear, see, and deal with on a daily basis at the platoon level is somewhat comical in a way. Often you are dealing with kids who are 18 years old, away from home for the first time, and who finally have a steady cash flow. Put a significant number of these guys together and the end result parallels the first semester of college living in the dorms - Anything is possible. I'm a married, 28 year old father of two, my weekend of playing Scene It: Friends Edition with my wife while casually drinking some Hefeweizen (German Beer) typically doesn't level up. Often times all you would have to do to hear a good story is ask, "So what'd you do this weekend?"


As it turns out though, I didn't have as much of an opportunity to hear such stories. The vast majority of my time as a Platoon Leader didn't come in a Garrison environment (actually being at home) it was spent in Sadr City. That's something that I can say that not very many people can. For those who know anything about the geography of Iraq know that Sadr City is not the ideal place for raising children or vacation. It's the armpit of the country, the Middle East, and the world if you want my opinion. It was one of the most difficult places to be in Iraq and definitely a challenging place. I didn't have the opportunity of easing my way into the situation either; I met up with my platoon a couple of months into the deployment.

In case you don't know, I arrived in Germany in July and deployed about 3 weeks later. I landed in Iraq in August which was about 4 months after everybody else. That was always my biggest fear for some reason, meeting my platoon in Iraq as opposed to prior to deployment. I felt that if given the latter then better working relationships would be established and trust would already be developed as opposed to earning on the job. Regardless of what I wanted the reality was I was headed to JSS Ur in Sadr City to meet my platoon. Once I arrived it was definitely interesting.

Within the first hour that I was there I heard that there may have been a possible grenade attack just outside of our walls. Welcome to Iraq right? I met everybody that evening and learned that I was taking over a highly decorated platoon. Earlier that year, in the spring, and just weeks into the deployment every member of my former platoon was recognized for their efforts on the route Gold Wall Build. 60 Minutes did a special on the Gold Wall Build and the guys were awarded for Valor; this was definitely a group of battle tested guys that I was meeting up with.




Watch CBS News Videos Online

While I do not want to go into full detail of every aspect of the deployment I do want to say that I was fortunate to have spent the deployment with a solid group of guys. It’s a different experience being deployed; you’re away from your family and lose a certain degree of privacy. You eat, sleep, shower, and live every aspect of your life alongside others who are experiencing and feeling the exact same thing. Many hours are spent wasted doing nothing, many more watching movies, and you have the time to hear everybody’s life story 5 times over. As I said, your privacy and sense of individualism is almost non-existent; that’s what makes deployment long and miserable but at the same time memorable. The bonds that are formed and the life experiences that are shared alongside the guys to the left and right of you is what are remembered the most. Did we go through some stuff that most people only read about or see in movies? Yeah, you could say that. But were stories born, deployment memories made, and did everybody live to talk about it? Absolutely!

That was what the majority of my time as a Platoon Leader consisted of, and it was great. It was a great time but as I said in the beginning, the Army never keeps you one place for too long. So the time for change brought me into an office and staring at a computer screen for the majority of the day. I also said at the beginning that it was bittersweet. I most definitely miss out on the day to day interaction, which made the job great although it did also feel like the right time to move on.

Does anybody remember the movie Stand By Me? It’s a classic movie and the journey that the 4 boys endured was one that they knew they would remember for the rest of their lives. However, once the journey was over and they all returned home they knew what they had would never be the same. They begin walking away and out of each other’s life. That is sort of what happened when we got back from Iraq. Slowly, people from my platoon began to leave, and by the end of the year I believe only 3-4 people will remain. That’s the nature of the Army but that is also why it felt like a good time to move on. Even though that part of my career is over it’s time to move on, which I have, and stay optimistic making the most out of each opportunity.

Now, the tone of this may have been a little more serious than normal. With that being said I want to lighten the mood, slightly. It’s almost 3:00 p.m. and I’m still in my sweatpants. Celia is asleep on the couch, Jadon is down for a nap, Hailey is munching on some Honey Nut Cheerios, and I’m finishing up this blog watching I Love You, Man. It’s a relaxing, lazy Sunday. Now enjoy this last little video I’ve uploaded and enjoy the rest of your own respective lazy Sunday.





***Any questions, comments, or suggestions can be emailed to me at adromick@gmail.com or simply post a comment.***

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Pictures From Paris

What could I possibly say about Paris that has not been said by many others before me? Nothing really. In short, Paris was absolutely beautiful! I did not think it was possible to think of a city as "beautiful" but that method of thinking is no more. The Louvre, the architectural design of the entire city, the restaurants, the Arc de Triomphe, and of course the Eiffel Tower was nothing short of amazing. I would venture to say on Saturday Celia and I pushed the kids for a good 10 miles; from early in the morning until late in the evening that ended with the Eiffel Tower. We gallivanted all over the city, from our hotel to Champs-Elysees; we saw it all. I could visit Paris 100 times over and still not get tired of the scenery. I want to post as many pictures as I can, I'll go into brief detail about a few, for the most part I want the pictures to do the talking. Enjoy, because believe me, I did!

Excuse the formatting, because it was next to impossible to get this many pictures to line up properly. Directly below, if you click on the picture to the left is the Louis Vuitton located on Champs Elysees. To the right is Hailey next to the pyramid outside of the Louvre. And yes, Mary Magdalene is is buried below there, just like in The Da Vinci Code. Her exhibit will be opening in Spring 0f 2010.

To the right is the Monna Lisa. I really don't see what all the hype is about. I was there and thought, "Cool. Check that block" There was nothing special about it. However, you see the scores of people flocked around her taking picture after picture. Go to Google Images and download it, seriously! Even worse, the absolute closest you could get is maybe 10 feet. Total letdown.

The pyramid was beautiful at night as you can see...but not nearly as Celia.

Jadon looking handsome. To the right you see him overlooking Paris from the Eiffel Tower at night.

To the left is the group we were with on a bike tour we took around Paris. If anybody visits Paris I strongly, STRONGLY recommend taking the Fat Tire Bike Tour. We were weaving in and out of Paris traffic and the tour guides were amazing! And to the right is yours truly, drinking a 4 Euro Heineken (about $6.00) at the Eiffel Tower. White Trash America representin' to the fullest.

Ah, we're so in love

***Any questions, comments, or suggestions can be emailed to me at adromick@gmail.com or simply post a comment.***

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My 28th Birthday

I woke up yesterday morning at 6:20 a.m. and believe me when I tell you that I slept in. It was far to early for me to roll over and attempt to have a “good morning conversation” with Celia so I decided to get out of bed and move to my living room. With the wife and both kids still sleeping I decided to take a little time to reflect on the beginning of my 28th year. Yesterday was not highlighted by any extravagant alcohol tales but more of everything that I missed out on my birthday one year ago.

To start the day off, Celia and I pushed the kids in our jogging stroller on a 5K run in attempts to raise money for breast cancer. (That half marathon I wrote about a month or so ago is not going to happen. The registration was only open for a few short hours and we did not know when the registration was going to open; consequently we missed the registration and the race is now full.) If you remember when I wrote my blog entitled Run, Run, Run I wrote about the many hills here in Germany and how difficult they are to run up. What I didn’t know was just how much more difficult it was to push both Jadon and Hailey around the 5K course. It was the run from hell, however, I still ran the entire thing in just over 25 minutes pushing roughly 60 lbs. the entire way. That’s right folks; I’m 28 and still got it!

Once the 5K was complete, Celia, the current Volunteer of the Month (I’m not brown-nosing, I swear!), had a cheerleading gig with her 5-8 year old girls. I took that time to feed the kids and put them down for a short nap since we had a birthday party for Cassie, a girl who lives above us, and one who also happens to be one of Jadon’s best friends later in the day.

Her birthday party was a lot of fun for the kids. It was held at a place called Sternenland, which is nothing more than one big play place for kids. It had a big pit of plastic balls to play in, ropes to walk across to slide down huge slides, trampolines, giant inflated rubber mats to jump on, tunnels to crawl through, and even mini go karts. Let me put it this way, I turned 28 years old yesterday and I still have not outgrow a place like Sternenland. For Jadon, it was the best moment of his life. After we went down the first slide he saw a punching bag and began hitting it. He couldn’t contain himself any longer and began laughing while jumping up in down with pure joy. His eyes were as wide as little kids on Christmas morning and the only downfall to the day for him was that we eventually would have to leave. When he got scared of certain things, like the rope bridges and big kids who had no regard for anybody else, he clinched me tight. Once he knew he was safe he had a smile on his face from ear to ear and was ready to play again.

Speaking of bigger kids, I have never been so upset with kids before. Jadon is only two years old and is no match, physically, to kids who are 11 and 12 years old. As he was slowly crawling up a ladder, because he’s two, these kids were recklessly flying by him like a drunk driver on the interstate. Eventually I had enough and blocked the entire bridge which caused a back up of kids that mirrored downtown rush hour traffic. The kids were annoyed but I didn’t care. When Jadon and I were jumping on the trampoline one kid was jumping with the belief that he was the only person on the trampoline and came ever so close to landing on Jadon’s head. I was in over-protective Daddy mode but I could tell that Jadon appreciated it because he always looked to make sure I was near him.

Hailey was still too young to enjoy a place like that so instead she spent the day getting passed around from person to person. My daughter, the diva, absolutely loved the attention. The only way her day could have gotten any better would have been if she could have eaten more. For those of you who do not know, which most likely is the vast majority of you who read this, that girl eats and eats like she was recently released from a hostage camp.

The main event of the evening was after Jadon and Hailey helped me open my presents. We put the kids down for bed so Celia and I could enjoy some time together. I put some steaks on the grill, we opened a bottle of fine German wine, and watched a few episodes of Criminal Minds. While that might not sound like the most exciting evening for everybody it was everything I could have asked for. Yesterday was a great day with the three people I love more than anything in the world. As I said before, last year on my birthday I was not allowed such a relaxing day.

One year ago on my birthday I woke up at JSS UR and conducted dismounted patrols around Sadr City. No Hollywood story took place on that day of an epic shootout or bombs getting dropped, October 3rd was simply just another day. Nobody knew that it was my birthday, nor did I tell anybody that it was my birthday. We were in one of the most difficult places in Iraq at the time and just about a week earlier I had received a full blown, “Welcome to Iraq,” courtesy of the fine citizens of Sadr City. In comparison, as you can see, the way I spent my 28th birthday was infinitely better than my 27th birthday. In fact, I can’t think of a single better thing that could have happened yesterday on my birthday.

Well, other than a Cyclone victory and a Hawkeye defeat, but hey, I always have next year right?



***Any questions, comments, or suggestions can be emailed to me at adromick@gmail.com or simply post a comment.***

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