From groovecake@yahoo.com Wed Dec 08 09:04:50 2004
Subject:Re: IRAQ N ROLL. continues

These are great stories Tony. Thanks for giving us a
flavor of what things are like there. You are doing a
great thing, man!

Mitch

--- tonysounds wrote:

> Tony O checking in again. So Bahrain was a real
> city, nothing spectacular, but a real
> honest-to-goodness city. It's the Saudi
> "naughty-time" playground, complete with its own
> slave trade: they import Russian, British, Ethiopian
> and Iraqi girls and rotate them out every month so
> that there is a "fresh" supply of "talent." Liquor
> is available but good luck finding tobacco products
> of any type. As always, McDonald's was present, and
> featured the typical McD's bill o' faire; in
> addition to the regulars, they also had McKofka, a
> pita with burger meat treat (frankly, they should
> have called it McKafka!). And unlike the McD's in
> other lands, Bahrain's McD had the typical "super"
> American sizes (read: xxx-large). Oh, and lest I
> forget, en route to our show on the base, we did
> pass a small hotel cleverly named "Hotel
> California." Uh huh....yeah.
>
> We flew out of Bahrain on a C-130; basically a cargo
> plane, passenger seats are nets with seatbelts that
> double as hammocks (actually, a much more
> comfortable way to fly than commercial...except for
> the lack of climate control....temps fluctuate from
> a bone aching 45 to a sweat inducing 85+). Just
> bring plenty of water. Our gear sits on a steel
> pallet that's strapped down. Ear plugs are a must
> on these flights. Steam emanates from various
> connectins inside the plane, which can be a bit
> disconcerting the first time around; but at this
> point, we're old pros at this, and we barely stay
> upright for the safety drill.
>
> We landed in Djibouti, Africa. A huge base, all
> tents, the men and women there BUST their humps.
> Tents...they sleep 8 in plywood cubicles with no
> doors, have a massive air conditioner of relative
> efficacy, and are more or less water tight. The
> winters there are mild...about 70degrees at night.
> Everyone snickered at me as I took my blanket and
> fashioned a door out of it, but by the end of the
> night, everyone had done the same. Flashlights are
> important; even though every cubicle has its own
> flourescent lighting, it's bright enough that it
> disturbs everyone in the tent, so to keep things
> civil, everyone's reading or hunting through their
> luggage by flashlight.
>
> The troops there really enjoyed the show.
> Attendance was fantastic, and beer was cheap: $1 per
> bottle. The selection was pretty impressive as
> well. Melvin, our POC, took us on a tour of
> downtown Djibouti during the day. It's the rainy
> season there (usually rains once, but had rained
> more or less constantly since our arrival), and the
> streets (I use that term loosely) were flooded. The
> town consists of drywall lean-tos, haphazardly
> propping each other up. People line the streets,
> walking through knee high water, trailing their
> goats behind them (those lucky enough to have them).
> Poverty reigns here...the homeless on Lower Wacker
> Dr live better than all but the king and generals
> here. It's thoroughly depressing. The French have
> had their military base here for over 30 years, but
> have done nothing for the city or people that can be
> immediately ascertained. Americans get a bum rap;
> while we are just as guilty of exploitation as the
> next guy, we generally leave things in a
> better state than we find them. Our base in
> Djibouti is 2 years old, but 10 years from now, the
> tents will be replaced by real structures, and roads
> and sewage and running water will built in the city.
> And lest I forget, we found a McDonald's in
> Djibouti as well. A picture from outside had to
> suffice however as I feared getting dysentery by
> stepping out of the vehicle. By McD standards, this
> was pretty bad...a plywood leanto (as opposed to
> just drywall), it did sport the traditional Golden
> Arches painted on a board outside; the familiar logo
> had been replaced by a more "regional" flavor:
> DONALD HAPPY DJIBOUTI!
>
> We flew out of Djibouti yesterday on another C130.
> After watching Roger Water's "In the Flesh" dvd, I
> climbed into the cockpit and hung out with the
> pilots for awhile. All I can say is that is one
> freakin AMAZING view. And they make it look so
> easy! We arrived safely 6 hours later in Kuwait,
> and found our quarters. Still on cots, but in a
> building with no working electricity other than the
> lights. We have a show today and will get to meet a
> lot of the service men and women here. This is what
> we came for!
>
> Until later.......
> TonyO
>
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