Wednesday, February 03, 2010 Finding the water My beach now has a surf! Rain doesn`t come often to the desert, but when it comes, it really comes, and though I have known many miserable, rainy moments in my military career, I can now state that categorically there is no more miserable rain than desert rain. The wind howls it down from the snow-capped mountains unobstructed by anything bigger than a rock. There`s nothing to hold the heat here, so when the suns goes down the temperature drops to something just over freezing. Wind, wet and cold, the hypothermia hat-trick. You`ll die faster of cold than heat here, and I nearly froze just standing in line for dinner. One guy from the other crew declared that air mattresses were for wimps and went out without his. After the first shivering night he earned himself the name ``Cardboard Dan``, as he tried to scrounge up random pieces of garbage to somehow elevate himself a couple of millimeters above the heat-sucking desert floor. The ground is hard as concrete here, and the rain just puddles and runs over the surface. I was lucky enough not to have to go out in it, and lucky enough again to be in the upper part of our tent when the lower part flooded. I went out to dig a little ditch around the front to keep the run-off out, and found a small lake in a low spot between our tent and the next, with a crowd of soldiers frantically swinging picks and shovels, filling sandbags and digging their way uphill. Uphill? I called over the senior guy. ``What are you doing here bro?`` ``We`re digging to keep the water out of the tent, sir.`` ``You know water flows downhill, right?`` ``Yes sir. We`re just trying to make the hole bigger.`` The army provides some really funny moments sometimes. Anyway, I got them digging on the downhill side, and soon we had a little run-off ditch draining the lake. The rain has stopped now, the ditch is still there, and once we`ve pulled out it`ll be almost all the evidence left that we ever were here. I hope that it grows into a proper wadi, into a river channel, into something to rival the Grand Canyon. Life is like that, we all leave little pieces behind us in our travels. Most of them vanish without trace, some will take root and grow in ways we cannot imagine. All we can do is try to make our influence positive, and see what happens. Cheers all! Paul :: add a comment :: Latest five blogs: Bullwer-Lytton 7/17/2010 The unnofficial army watch 2/20/2010 Finding the water 2/3/2010 All beach, no water 1/16/2010 All beach and no water. 1/4/2010 Archives: 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 ________________________________________________________________ OMG paul chafe you are my hero chaz micheal micheals, US/ Detroit, posted on 6/30/2010 8:58:49 AM ________________________________________________________________ PS Paul, I CHOO CHOO CHOOSE YOU! Francesca Francesca, Sweden, posted on 2/14/2010 9:58:09 PM ________________________________________________________________ Oh where, oh where has my little Paul gone? Oh where, oh where can he be? With his hair so short and his @#!$ so long, oh where oh where can he be? Paul, where are you? Please blog again. I yearn for your stimulation. Finding the water is simply an artistic dream, not unlike your penetrating eyes... it's like they stare right at me through the screen. I just don't feel complete lately without visiting your site and blogging my little heart out. Gosh... where are you on Valentine's Day? Love always XOXO Francesca Francesca, Sweden, posted on 2/14/2010 9:57:08 PM ________________________________________________________________ PS Paul, I consider myself to be earily similar to the desert rain you speak of in this blog... read between the lines big fella. (insert winkie face here!) Francesca, Sweden, posted on 2/14/2010 12:08:50 AM ________________________________________________________________ Paul, Tonight I dove-in head first into Finding the Water. You are such an articulate a man. I can't begin to fathom why you would go to war and potentially sacrifice such a perfect body and mind. You are so intellectually and physically stimulating, I want to send you picture of my recent enhancement surgery. I think it would give you something to think about while you're in the trenches while at war. You are so brave, so smart, so talented... why are all of the good men taken. Please blog soon. PS, I can't wait to open your book tonight with a bottle of wine, strawberries and whipped cream by the fire. I'll be thinking of you! Francesca XOXO Francesca, Sweden, posted on 2/14/2010 12:05:35 AM ________________________________________________________________ Paul, You are such an amazing author, and so incredibly dashing to boot. I follow your blogs and have missed reading about your adventures over the past little while. Why has it been so long since you've blogged. My body and mind aches for your stimulation. I feel we connect on a supernatural level. If I could only know where you are and what you're doing (and what you're wearing (insert winkie face here big fella). I'd love to send you my pics and maybe meet up, or connect somehow in Time and Space. Please write soon. Francesca Francesca, Sweden, posted on 2/12/2010 11:23:52 PM ________________________________________________________________ Wow. Very eloquent. Glad to hear something from you, good to know your hanging in there. Sam Sam Ray, St Helena, CA , posted on 2/4/2010 4:35:12 PM ________________________________________________________________