Ok so I have gotten a few blog posts under my belt now.  I am really starting to enjoy writing.  When I was back in high school I took a creative writing class and really enjoyed it.  Since I have been in the military I have not really had the opportunity to write other than in structured Air Force ease.  My wife started a private blog for us before I left for Iraq.  The other day I was pushing 30 hours without sleep and was writing an email to her.  I started writing and after a paragraph I realized it was in more of a journal type format almost like I was talking to myself.  So I kept writing and before I knew it I had written a page.  I posted it to our private blog and went back to work.  A few hours later she sent me a Instant message and told me it would be her favorite post for along time. I'm not sure why but im still kind of shy about other people reading what I have to say.  Will they like it? Think its funny? Or totally misunderstand what im trying to say. I have not decided if im going to post that entry here or not. But anyway on with "That guy"

  Ok I know you have all seen the beer commercials. The guy who steals the last beer, takes the last piece of pizza, or shows up with generic beer is "That guy".  I have been in the fire department for 11 years now and "that guy" is everywhere.  He is the guy that does something wrong, offensive, or inconsiderate over and over and over and over. He is the guy who hides when there is work to be done. He is the guy who is always the last one on the fire truck.  He is the guy who never takes a shower.  Ok im going to side track for a minute.  In the fire department we are pretty brutal when it comes to making fun of people, teasing, and hazing.  So you can imagine the last thing you want to do if you cant take a joke is to tell everyone what your weakness is. We will open the wound as big as we can and pour salt inside then trample all over it. The point is if you have a weakness and cant take the teasing what ever it is you will become that guy.

  Now all of this may sound a little harsh to the normal person.  We are anything but normal people.  We work long hours in most cases 24hrs on and 24 off. We spend more time with the people we work with than our families.  We put our bodies through physical punishment that would make most people cry.  We see the horrors and the true evil of society every day. Making fun of each other and teasing is not only part of our culture its how we relieve stress sometimes. Ok now I bet you are asking what the hell does this have to do with that guy.  If you have bothered reading this far I will tell you about the last.

  "That guy usually only comes out on deployments like the one im on now in the middle east. On rare occasion you will see him around your fire house in the states too. That guy is always pissed off and short with others.  That guy is usually on the morale phone or writing a email. That guy is not only stressed out from being in a combat zone but is worried about what his wife/girlfriend is doing.  That guy's wife just told him she wants a divorce.  That guy just found out she is cheating on him.  That guy's mind is somewhere else and not on the job at hand. That guy could get me killed. I feel sorry for that guy and pissed off cause he missed a symptom on a medical call and almost killed somebody, He didn’t put his bunkers on right went down leaving me alone in a building full of smoke and fire.  Ok once again if you have bothered to read this far you are most likely asking yourself what the hell does this have to do with the beer commercial.  Well I will tell you. I am not that guy….

  I have been married to my wife Jonette for 9 years now. Im not saying we are perfect we have our fights and issues like everybody but we do one thing that a lot don’t do enough of and that’s talk to each other.  My wife is my best friend, my lover, and the mother of my 3 beautiful daughters. If something is on my mind I tell her.  If she if bugged by something she asks me about it.  Now sometimes I have to pry it out of her but we have always gotten to the bottom of the issue made up and went to the bedroom and screwed each others brains out for a hour or two.  Once again we are not perfect by any means but I am not sitting here in Iraq worried about what she is doing, where she is going, who she is talking too. Im not saying commuication is the only part of our relationship or it is the cure all but it is a big part of ours. She is a individual and my best friend….. So I hope you enjoyed reading my rambling.  Im going to go smoke and grab a energy drink while spell checker is running for the next 15 min…Talk to you later