Book Review: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq

Before Dr. Coppola crossed over the wire into private medicine, he was LTC Christopher Coppola of the US Air Force, who served two tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. A pediatric surgeon, Dr. Coppola provided critically needed skills to not only the soldiers, but the local population as well.

His book, Coppola, A Pediatric Surgeon In Iraq hits the ground running in chapter one and never lets up. Coppola takes the reader into the thick of the trauma room, in a way that no TV show ever could.

"The techs wheel the patient into the trauma bay and flip out legs from the gurney to support the head and feet of the litter. I move in and look down at the patient lying on the stretcher. It is a child who looks to be about two years old. I had expected to see a soldier or at least an adult, and the sight of a child is jarring."

Injured, mangled, bloodied, and sick children in war is knowledge that exists along the periphery for those outside the experience. But few within have ever presented the topic like Coppola. The surgeon not only tells of the unending caseload, but makes a very good case for military units in combat zones to include pediatric surgeons and also be properly supplied. In his published study, "Children Treated In An Expeditionary Military Hospital In Iraq," (included in this book), eighty-five pediatric cases over a seventeen month period were evaluated. This eighty five made up 5% of the total number of cases seen during that period at the military hospital in Balad.

While the medical units are mainly set up to tend to soldiers, there's a large number of locals along with children who are routinely treated. Coppola writes the obvious but often overlooked: that modern warfare is conducted in urban settings. As its victims, it will include the unfortunate who could not get out. Children are sometimes used as shields, fall victim to IED's, or household accidents caused by using flammable oils for cooking. Local hospitals are either rendered non-existent or operate with a combination of well meaning personnel, with both a lack of experience and equipment. Hence, the worst cases, and most especially children are often sent to the military hospitals. Coppola writes that while it's acknowledged this happens, more can be done to prepare for them.

This is the war stripped down to flesh and bones. He writes a harrowing account of MASCAL, an acronym for mass casualties. The readers are introduced to two year old burn patient named Leila, the victim of a vengeful firebombing on her house perpetrated by insurgents getting back at her father who worked for the Iraqi National Guard. Two-thirds of her body is burned, and much of this third degree. The dilemma always posed is that while she requires of four hour operation, injured soldiers might come through the trauma unit. It's a game of constantly shifting and balancing time.


Leila becomes one of the unit's success stories. They finally get her to smile, they learn about her favorite doll. They do that one thing that all health care providers often do --they fall in love with their patient. He writes:

"I knew her long enough to learn that her favorite stuffed animal was a pink bear, she loved chips and snacks, and her giggles brought joy to her mother and father."

But Leila becomes the confirmation of all that's wrong with war: violence, retribution, poverty, and death.

Coppola also writes of the medics, techs, nurses and other staff who work tirelessly to bring sanity and caring to a war zone. Are they heroes? Most of them would say no, they're just doing their jobs. However, few health professionals would ever cross the line to work in a war zone --not once, but many times. Yet, their efforts to restore life are seen each day in the number of wounded warriors who make it home.

We also learn about his efforts to bring a touch of home to his hooch by growing sunflowers, herbs, tomatoes, peppers and beans along the base of sandbags piled against it. He tells us of an invitation from the interpreters to break bread with them in their living quarters. While it isn't standard, and is widely frowned upon, Coppola notes that commanders said they'd learned nothing about the local populace until they got out of their Humvees and went inside to have tea. Hence, Coppola shows up with a ziploc bag of cilantro at the tent of Kasim and Majid for a meal of lamb spine stew. "For me, sharing a meal with friends is more important that obeying the letter of the law," he wisely writes.

A Pediatric Surgeon In Iraq presents a different side of the war. Coppola is at his best when presenting a convincing case to make allowances for the care of the youngest victims of war. Now in private practice, this surgeon will forever carry with him the experience of war as he goes forth as a surgeon in a large urban medical practice on the east coast. (Note that ten percent of all book sales will go to War Child, a registered charity dedicated to providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children around the world).

Part 4: After War, Writing For The Love Of It

This is the last of a four part series on writing. However, writing articles will appear every Friday.

I wish I could tell you that you're going to get rich. Someone will discover your genius and you'll be on Oprah, Charlie Rose. The NY Times will put you on their Best Seller's list, and everyone you meet will have read all your books.
It's pretty rare. I mean, it happens.
But not to many.
So here's the truth. You write because you love it. And if you don't love it then you might as well not do it because it's an awful lot of work.
Remember that blogging is writing, so don't let anyone write you off as a mere blogger. You're a writer. You just happen to do this particular form. A poet writes poetry, a blogger writes blogs.

Last week we went over reading. So here's where I tell you to immerse yourself.

"I only started getting somewhere when I started having fun." -Elmore Leonard

In the carousel above, I've put up an instructive and important book, "What If" by Bernays & Painter. They say it's for fiction writers, but the exercises are instructive for everyone. Write a lot. This is excellent because you can thumb your way through and jump around. Do the exerises and you'll find your voice. Write short passages, longer stories, even poetry. Poetry?

Let me tell you, Emily Dickinson was the most rocking chick to ever live as a shut in. If you want to try a 20th century American epic, read Robinson Jeffers' Cawdor. Go to poetry readings --jam with those kids in college, who will cheer you on, no matter how bad or good your poem, or if you're nervous. In other words, you've been in war, now go play.

After enough time has passed, and you've put your experience into perspective* pull out the journal or pull up your blog posts and take the information to weave a story. It's an intricate process and done well, can move and transport the reader. You change names, you highlight some events, and completely ignore others. Just remember,your challenge as a writer is to tell the events in a compelling way that rings true and is true.

All writers write --whether fiction or non fiction, to convey something about themselves. But be careful if your book is being written as autobiographical. Here's what Hemingway had to say:

"Forget about your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start, and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt use it --don't cheat with it. Be as faithful to it as a scientist --but don't think anything is of any importance because it happens to you or anyone belonging to you."

Ouch! He really knew how to hoist someone on their own petard. But he's right. Sure, write about your experiences, but be objective. Don't make the reader feel sorry for you. Don't keep pulling on the reader's tear ducts for sympathy or to make yourself seem more tragic or heroic than you deserve. Remember to always see yourself in the context of what was happening, and to comprehend your role from what other's might have thought as well.

A word about "I:" The writer must learn, especially if writing a first person narrative, is to avoid overuse of the personal pronoun I. Why? Because it makes the writers seem like a raging egotist. Given that we already exist in near-mental isolation, this is a big problem. Unless you're The Donald, few can get away with it. We call it the evil-I or the I,I,I syndrome, or treading I's. Go through your finished page and circle the pronoun "I" in red. Go back and get rid of 99% of them by delving into your descriptive writing.

What moves a book is drama and conflict. But a good writer knows what to put in, and what to leave out. That's part of the craft. A writer only chooses the things that hook the reader, give life to the characters (real or imagined), and move a story along to give it that ring of truth.
Which leads me to this salient point:

You wouldn't think of playing professional baseball without having practiced for years. The same goes with writing a book.
and
Reading about writing isn't the same as writing itself. So don't get more hooked into reading about it than doing it.
-Kanani Fong, The Kitchen Dispatch

Finding Your Tribe:
Take a class or find a group. Writing and receiving feedback as you go along is a lot of fun. Though some writing groups can be a very bad fit, don't give up. Eventually you will find one. You don't have to spend a lot of money and get an MFA or attend a million writers' conferences and do weekend-long workshops. Look at the local university extension course offerings, go through your city, find people on the internet. Remember, there are obnoxious fools everywhere, writing groups are no exception. I've had people write horrible things on my pages --some of which were completely egocentric and snarky. But look, in the military, you've found more than your share as well. So deal with them one at a time, and only take the advice that's going to push your writing skills forward. You'll learn that there are people in the group who offer better critiques than others. Listen to them. As for the rest of the blaggards --tune them out and don't get involved with a game of high stakes put downs. You're too busy writing to let their hang ups crowd your psyche.

Writing is a transformative act. The minute you put your thoughts onto the page, you've committed to change. Even if you don't get published (and that's very hard), or if you only publish a few to give to your family and crazy Aunt Madge, the process of writing is one that is life sustaining, can be shared, and pleasurable.

*Remember what Ernest Hemingway said about war? If not, go back a few posts and you'll find it.

Veterans to March On Capitol Hill

Vets for Freedom will be marching on Capitol Hill, Thursday November 5. You can even sign a petition.

They'll march, meet with lawmakers, and push the President to make a decision. I'm not only encouraging veterans to go, but I think military spouses should make their presence known as well. We're all in the fight. Our silence can no longer be maintained.

Please watch the 545 Project Video of the consequences of staying undecided.

X Game Champ (Sans Snowboard) Visited Troops In Afghanistan

One of the things we talked about at Blog World Expo was sharing what milbloggers write about with mainstream (non-military) blogs and groups. Conversely, one way insight is gained with when groups like the USO sponsor civilians who have little or no experience with military life go overseas to visit the troops. This summer, Graham Watanabe, pro-Snowboarder and X-Games medalist went to Afghanistan with other X-Games athletes. He wrote an account of it on the USA Ski Team Blog.

"So, here I sit on a C-130 airplane, on my way to Afghanistan where I'll visit multiple different base camps and meet all kinds of men and women who put their lives on the line on a daily basis for us."

It's fun to read because he learns first hand of the commitment and sacrifice made by few. I think efforts like this are win-win. The military community wins because the visitor brings them a bit of relief and home during their deployment. The visitor wins because his or her world is forever expanded, their understanding deepened, their appreciation set with a firm foundation.

Read it here at the Ski Team USA Blog
go to part two by scrolling back up and clicking "Afghanistan, Part 2"

Moving The Wounded

ABC News ran this report the other night. This is what happens during the Medevac process.

Beware...

This is one of the downfalls of twitter, facebook, blogs and the like.

Weekly Yoga Post and THE WINNER!!

Project Valour IT bloggers: First of all, you're all winners in the deepest sense of the word. I honor your graciousness that propels you to do well for others. You walk in light. May we all continue to seek and find what we're looking for, those things that bring us fulfillment.

So the WINNAH IS...OMG...

BAWWWWWWSTON MAGGIE! Please email or facebook me your address, and I'll send it out to you today. I'm running to the post office anyway, with a leopard patterned Snuggie for The Hubs.

But stick around because Cool Joe has a second one he's donated to give away.

Tuesdays are my days to write about yoga. I'll spare you the tinkly sounds of anemic prose.

Disclaimer: I'm not a yoga teacher. I'm an uncoordinated, middle aged woman with a gimp foot & leg who started yoga a few years ago to recover from orthopedic surgery (screws in my feet). I feel just like the guy in the cartoon above on some days.

Yoga isn't a religion or a substitute. Since I'm a novice, I won't talk about enlightenment or the divine. But, if controlled breathing and practicing deliberate movements helps me slow down to see and to be more deliberate with my decisions, which in turn affects my actions, then yoga has been a great complement to God's spiritual values that I already possess.

I am still the chocolate seeking, potato-chip loving, procrastinating, prone-to-swearing miscreant that I was going in. I wish I could tell you I toss bon mots and smell sweetly of lavender oil. But like everyone else, I have biases. I struggle and I don't glide on gossamer wings. This self examination has helped me gain a new ground and find some happiness. I can be especially nice if you have chocolate or potato chips. Especially Snickers.

How I started: I started with a private session (because I had a cane at that point) to assess my needs. They paired me with an older teacher named Robin. The great thing about her is she respected physical limitations. We did many exercises up against the wall because I couldn't balance on my feet.

My first class was called, "Hatha Yoga." It's a gentle practice, perfect for the beginner. My teacher had been practicing yoga for around 40 years, full of wisdom and mirth. I was clumsy, utterly confused, and inflexible. But I stayed with it working on the basic poses and getting the proper alignment...and most of all having fun! Since then, I've gone onto more challenging classes. I also go to different studios to expand my view.

Where to go: If it's available, find a studio devoted to yoga. Ask around, cruise the internet, pay a visit. If you don't feel welcome, if they won't answer your questions, then it might not be the place for you.

On the other hand, if you're in a small town, you might not have any other choices! In this case, just ask: what class or teacher would you recommend for a complete beginner? You can also tell them any physical challenges you might have, which will help them place you with the right person. In addition, many gyms have classes, as well as community centers. The later offers a good, less expensive option. You can also fill in with some yoga DVD's, or watch Namaste Yoga. Keep in mind thought that being in a class is invaluable.

So let's move on and start with some notes on equipment, namely, the mat.


Katy Downey, owner of Lotuspad Eco Yoga Mats in Somerville MA, posed a question on her blog.

What's your take on the communal sharing of mats, blocks, straps and blankets?

Initially, renting a mat is common, though there's no guarantee that it's cleaned each time. This summer I was in NYC and rented one at a well-known studio. I swear, they hadn't cleaned that thing evah. It had the appeal of wearing a sweaty gym sock around my face. People sweat and roll around on them. Read this article about icky fungi found in gyms and on mats in the NY Times.

Eventually, people usually buy their own. I started with a simple mat from Target. After many years, my old one was worn. I like Katy's non-PVC, non-latex mat. It runs around $40.

But, what you buy depends entirely on your budget. Not the budget of the studio, the teacher, the person next to you. Yours. So if your budget is TJ Maxx or Target, just get it there. One word of warning: beware of "natural rubber." The stink is like having a red playground ball jammed up your nose. There's nothing like discovering you have a latex allergy by buying a $70 mat and finding yourself sick for 3 weeks (like I did).

Consider bringing your own beach towels or thick yoga blanket. Recently, I went to a wildly popular studio. I took a 2 hour challenging class and used their blankets. Later, after I gotten it sopping wet, I asked ...where's the wash basket? Someone said, "Oh, they never wash those." Yech. So I crumpled it up in a ball and told the girl in the front that it really needed washing. Being that it's flu season, I think of the image of those poor native Americans being given blankets with small pox. So yeah, bring your own.

Straps? Blocks? All cheap enough to haul in as well. But the most vital thing you bring to your practice is you.

So that's it. My yoga post for Tuesday. I'm hoping to have some guest yogis blogging for this Tuesday column. (If you are one and want to guest blog, let me know). Keep stretching and breathing! Make sure to leave a comment to be factored into today's giveaway.
Just leave a comment and you'll be entered in the giveaway.

Project Valour IT: Giving Dignity and Strength

Today's GIVEAWAY. Create a blog post about Project Valour IT today (Monday, 10/26/09), and then leave a comment here with your blog url. You'll be entered to win the meditation kit donated by Cool Joe.

For most of my adult life, patients have held a special place in my heart. And so it's with pleasure that I write about Project Valour IT, one of the many worthwhile programs that Soldier's Angels supports.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, seen here speaking with CNN's Don Lemon. The project started as Chuck was recuperating from major wounds sustained from an IED while serving in Iraq. While recovering from severe wounds, which included the loss of several fingers, he asked for a voice activated computer so that he could keep up with those who served with him.

Thus, a serious tragedy kicked off a major charity.
Project Valour IT helps to supply three key pieces of equipment that greatly booster the self confidence, and recover process after a significant injury.

It provides computers to be used with voice activated software, to soldiers who are in need due to a variety of injuries, which makes using a traditional keyboard impossible. The Department of Defense provides the adaptive software, though Project Valour IT often provides this too.

Wii Video Game systems, which encourage whole body engagement during the recovery are donated to physical therapy departments at military medical centers. While games like Wii resorts are fun for our teens at home, they provide a different tactic to helping patients with hand eye coordination and gross motor skills movement.

Many soldiers who have suffered from Traumatic Brain Injury or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a difficult time with navigation and organization. Project Valour IT gives them hand held GPS units. They can easily organize a day's worth of stops, store information on favorite and vital places to go, and even help them find a business in the general search category.

Each of these are key to helping a soldier on the road to recovery. It is neither easy or quick, but having the right equipment greatly helps them address an immediate physical need, while boosting their self esteem. Project Valour IT helps them take the first steps to independence.

There's a widget on the sidebar. I'm asking any of you who read my blog (or other milblogs) to hit the widget, make a donation. I'm on TEAM ARMY, and though I would love it if you would donate to our effort, I'm most happy if you make the donation to the branch of service of your choice.

Note from home: Dear Hubs, Our Daughter Is A Blonde

When I came home today, there was the pungent smell of burnt plastic and smoke.
What happened? I asked.
"I don't know," said Kid2.
"Do you mean the cat or the dog used the microwave?" I asked, pulling open the blackened door.
"I tried to cook a ramen noodle," she said.
"What?"
"I read the instructions a bijillion gazillion times," she said. "I just forgot about the water."
"Yeah?" I asked, grabbing a sponge.
"Well, because usually you boil the water on the stove and the rest of the stuff --you know, you put in the microwave."
"Really? Is that how it's done?" I asked, as I directed her to go get the Wet Swiffer.
"Yeah, I don't think we should buy soup noodles anymore," she said, washing down the walls & the ceiling.

Sorrow, Reflection & Gratitude

This weekend we're observing silence. My Aunt June passed away on Friday, and I don't have the heart to write. We'll be traveling to Tucson as soon as we get word. Several posts are ready and will be autoposted as the days come up.
I've written something about her on my writing blog, that being the place where I write obituaries for those who've met something to me.
You can read it here:
Get Lost With Easy-Writer: Aunt June: Did Not Like Broccoli In Her Chow Mein

An excerpt to take with you:

"She and uncle were regulars at the bingo hall at the casinos. The stories she'd tell me about "those old people" were hilarious. And she had bobble head cats perched on her dashboard that would bounce...bounce....bounce as we drove."

Part 3. After War: Writing & Reading

This is part three of a four part series on writing that appears every Friday. This is required reading if you want to be my friend.

Building upon what Ernest Hemingway said about writing a war story, the first thing to learn is that it doesn't happen in a day. Writing is a craft and there are many forms. It might take a long time for you to get what you envisioned on the page. At times you will be mesmerized, enthralled and also hate the act of writing.

What Papa Hemmingway. said about the craft:

"There's no rule on how it is to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly. Sometimes it is liked drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges."
-Ernest Hemingway to Charles Poore, 1953.

Oh, does it get worse? My, my....

Laurence Stern knew this: "I begin with the first sentence and trust to Almighty God for the second. Amen." -Erica Jong, On Becoming A Writer

This weekend at Blog World Expo, someone mentioned that John Burns of the NY Times had yet to write a book about his experience in Iraq. They weren't sure why the delay, but perhaps I can lend some clarity.

A book by John Burns will be well anticipated. He'll not only get the big advance, he'll get the book tour, the Charlie Rose show, print and radio shows (if I'm lucky he'll appear here as well). As I wrote last week Friday, a non-fiction book that goes into print runs between 50,000 - 80,000 words.

That's a lot. It's writing full time for as long as it takes. Sometimes it takes a matter of months, for others ...years. My good friend Frank Schaeffer seems to have a book out a year. Doesn't he sleep? (He does, but he gets up at 4:30 a.m.) Some of his books that seemed to have come out in sort of extrusion process have actually taken 8 years to write. He writes several books simultaneously, and also has to research, read and oftentimes travel.

Anyway, for Mr. Burns, it's not a matter of pulling out everything he's written for the NY Times and synthesizing it all. No! He has to start at the beginning, figuring out what goes in, what gets left out, where to start, whether or not to write chronologically or by topic. Like everyone else he'll start like this:

"Page 1, Chapter 1"

The rest is a form of mental wrestling, and upon completion will hopefully be the spoils.

So, as you journal, blog, or think about putting a long story or book together, here are my suggestions:

1. Quit thinking so much, start seeing more. Envision what you want to convey, then get it on the page.
   
2. Patience is a necessity. Writing is rewriting.
   
3. It helps to have friends who are writing, too.
   
4. What you're writing now (especially if you're aiming for publication of any sort) will be changed. You'll rewrite it at least 10 times.
5. A book isn't the only form for your story. Maybe it's an article, a short story, a blog post, or even an epic poem. Maybe you'll parse it out in various forms.
   

Still here? Really? Aren't there some chocolates to nibble, a dog to walk? Oh, okay. Let's press on.
The only rule is to apply yourself and not be afraid to fail.
You will learn to love writing. It will become your lifeblood, and you will not be able to imagine your life without it.

First up: Reading
Stretch yourself. Read in and out of the genre of your interest. In other words, if you like war books, then sprinkle something different --like romance. If you read romance, then read war books. If you like mystery, read literary fiction. Mix it up. Learning how to write doesn't just come from what you already think you know, but from reading good writers. Examine their style, how they write description. How do they bring life to their characters, and what is it that they do that either kept you reading or made you put the book down and never return?

Here's where I make a pitch for the classics. They're cheap, accessible and you can even get them in the library. But you don't read them for snob appeal, you read them to see how they were put together, how someone in the late 18th century with only a pen and a lantern could flesh out characters, describe the social nuances of the day. One reason to read classics is because many of the movies you've seen are take offs on Jane Austen's novels. Steinbeck? Movie. Melville? Movie.

But, make sure to read recently published stuff too. In every writers' class and group, there's one or two people who are proud that they only read classics. But there's real danger in not knowing what's being accepted for publication today.

Because the reality is that if Jane Austen were to submit her manuscript Emma, she'd get turned down. So she'd go back, write a screenplay, and call it Clueless. Of course, it would get accepted, especially if she suggested casting Alicia Silverstone as Emma. And if she were to re-submit Pride and Prejudice, no doubt it would be called Bridget Jones's Diary. So yes, I'm suggesting that you read and watch the movie Clueless, then read Jane Austen's book Emma. Bridget Jones's Diary is a hoot, but also watch the movie. In both, examine what the writer and screenwriter did to bring those characters alive.

So go to it. Read. A lot. Then, start writing but don't think too much. If you do, you'll never be able to finish.

Next Friday I tell you why you should write even though you won't get rich.

MilSpouse Finds New Boyfriend: J. Peterman

Admittedly, the writing part came first, the fashionista side, and finally the army wife came marching out. Well, not marching, really, but striding. So now I have a new boyfriend. His name is JPeterman, and he's written me back in the comments over on my fashion blog.

So what does all this have to do with an military blog?
Well, doesn't it strike you that mil-types are everything that JPeterman writes of? Urbane, well traveled, can engage in hand to hand combat, deadly shots with both guns and wit, can survive with babies or stinky sidekicks. Can PCS with one week's notice, have the kids packed, a new school found in a foreign land, --all while wearing a shirtdress and a pair of flip flops?

I mean, beyond the military --isn't this why you all hang out with one another once you're out?
Really. Go read. My new boyfriend. JPeterman.
On The Literary Fashionista

Keeping My brain straight

Coming up

1. Some art work by a former soldier of the 82nd Airborne.
2. A book review by a Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq
3. An instructive article on writing (every Friday)
4. A chance to win a give away by doing absolutely nothing.
5. Photos of the new 759th FST shirts. I'm not sure why they had them made up, but they look real pretty.
6. Jihad Gene sets his getting lost in the crowd at Blog World Expo.
7. Stories from The Hubs.
8. Write about Project Valour IT.... and get on TEAM ARMY.

Thine Head Dost Layest On Hello Kitty

I was reading The Wolf & The Crow recently, and she was pondering on what to put in the first care package going out to Afghanistan. Should she include food? Books? Gag gifts?

Earlier this summer I received The Hubs's request for pillow cases.
And so I gathered all of the cases that the kids had used when they were young. I washed, packed them in ziploc bags and sent them over with an assortment of magazines and snacks. I taped shut the package, filled out the customs form and sent it on its way on several airplanes, a helicopter, over mountain ranges and deserts.

I wonder about about the teams' reaction when they were given pillowcases with the Teletubbies, Hello Kitty, Power Puff Girls, Thomas The Tank Engine and Pongo from 101 Dalmations. Each night several soldiers put their weary head down on a cartoon character, and hopefully dream about home.

No Dateline & Viva Ras Vegas

No, we don't know when The Hubs will be back.
As everyone knows, things have changed a lot over there and adjustments have been made.
Well, it's war.
While we were in Vegas, I realized it was one year ago that he left for Fort Bla Bla and we stayed here to let Kid2 finish out her middle school years, and let Kid1 finish high school.

I also had to shut down the practice (which took 9 months) and wait out an unfavorable housing market. Since then, we've seen him ...4 times? Can't complain there are all sorts of people who do with less. I mean, people not even in the military who rarely see their loved ones because of circumstances. But the time has gone quickly, and life is good.

In the meanwhile, the 3 of us will just keep trotting along as we have always done!
Let's just say, the milblogging community makes the passage a whole lot softer.

Here's a picture of the Eifel Tower and the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas. Kid2 and I ate at Paris, and then walked around the Bellagio. We were pretty tired so we took a cab back to the hotel and it was just like a NYC cab ride.

The rest of the crew went out drinking and dancing. They had a lot of fun, and from what I can tell no laws were broken and no contracts were sent out on any of them. Mr. Bouhammer got asked to leave the Bellagio due to his Bermudas! Jihad Gene got separated from Laughing Wolf at the Blog World Expo Party because it was a throng engaging in loud music, tech talk, monetization, while drunk and flirting. I just hope Jihad Gene got to say Rrrrruve you not so much!

I had to bring Kid2 because the family she was going to stay with had swine flu. So I just brought her, knowing she'd enjoy Vegas as she'd never been. I also thought that she should see the exhibit hall because she's the next generation who will both use and shape technology. So we get there and we show them our registration, our ID's. They look at her and say, "You have to be 18." To which I replied, "We're with the military plank. Everything has been taken care of." They looked at me crosseyed, I pulled out my military ID and as they say .... the seas parted and we went in.

But seriously, this is a kid who already has UBUNTU wired. She was perfect for the experience, and enjoyed it a lot. She simply slipped on the very cool computer case, put on a Lljit shirt, and well ...she looked like every other teen age nerdtreprenuer there.

Tag! We'd Be It But Military Isn't On The List

Last weekend, Richard Jalichandra CEO and Founder of Technorati gave a good summary of its companies findings about the blogosphere at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. Later on, while I was talking to Lisa McKay and Eric Olsen of Blog Critics (which was acquired by Technorati last year), I met him. He found out what I write about, that I had been a frequent contributor, and said, "Well, maybe we need to start our own military channel."
Believe me, it was off-the-cuff.

But one never knows if Technorati is acquiring properties, how deep their pockets are, what one might look like, or how it would differ from Military.com. On Monday, Technorati released their new site on Monday, as well as their State of the Blogosphere, 2009, an annual report.

Technorati found out that 85% of blogs use tags. The ones are the left are those that are the most popular and have a general appeal.

So I have a few questions for the milblogging community:

1. What are the tags you use the most?
2. If you don't use tags, why not?
3. When milblogging, have you considered using any of the tags at the left?
4. Are there any tags that you think the milblogging community can get behind to raise our profile to the public?

War Wife Weekly: The Hubs Sends A Vignette

This article was originally posted on Blogcritics. Below, packages on the way to Afghanistan
I know. I am supposed to be the silently pining wife, checking the doorstep every day for that awful moment that no family member of a deployed soldier ever wants. My life is supposed to be like either a Norman Rockwell painting or that of a character in a TV sitcom living crisis-to-crisis complete with close-up moments.

But being a milspouse is not quite that way. While we miss our loved ones a lot, in fact they cross our minds constantly, life goes on. And if I can be even more precise, life is good. The reactions I've had when people learn my husband is deployed have ranged from gratitude to verbal lashings, but the worst are those who become weepy. The reason I say it's the worst is that there's nothing I can say or do to convince them that we don't live our lives as though it were an impending tragedy.

Getting on with life means learning that the dog can walk up to 90 minutes a day for several miles. One cat can tear through 12 pouches of food in a week if you listen to his lies. I've also gotten used to feeding teens by buying large bags of food, not once but several times a week. I've discovered that the equivalent to kibble for teens is cereal. Holding the fort alone also means saying "no" to most of the fashion shows I used to cover because it's hard to be gone from 8 am to midnight every day during Fashion Week. Not having him here also means helping the kids learn to drive, helping with their homework, taking them to summer camp, to visit relatives in other states — all of on my own. But truthfully? I can't really complain; after all, single parents have done this through the ages. My situation is only unusual in that my husband is at war.

This doesn't mean that there isn't stress. But it's not the stress of the old days, when it came in waves. This is more like a silent nag, always wanting to put its nose over your shoulder. Like many, I've learned to bat it away. My method of coping is daily yoga, reading, and writing. The one thing I don't do is watch the pundit shows or get bogged down in politics. Because really — there is the political argument, and then there is the military argument, which are two different things. If I listened to all the infighting, then I'd hug the nag, which isn't an attractive option. But this doesn't mean that I don't read history, culture, and war books, scan the papers for a glimpse of life over there, or haven't formulated my own opinion. Guaranteed, my being a milspouse also doesn't mean what I think stays behind my prettily pursed lips. And that is getting on with life as well.

We get mail from my husband. And though there have been very worrisome times (meaning, more than usual) under conditions that would send most of us packing, he does have some funny things to share.

"Last night we had an interesting patient at the clinic. He is one of the local leaders and enjoys the respect and loyalty of a large following. Injured and initially treated elsewhere, he came here by helicopter for the remainder of his care.
It was late and he was very tired but people kept filing into the clinic, each wearing the standard third world camo with sandals. I was startled as I looked up from my examination to see some thirty to forty well-wishers, crammed Kalishnikov-to-Kalishnikov into the tiny clinic, analyzing my every move. "Late. Him rest," I tried in my primordial Pashto. "Yes-yes, of course," they murmured. No movement. Now through my translator, "Tell them the man is tired and must rest. Everyone who is not family must go now." "Absolutely... good," they agreed. Nobody moved. They continued to watch, commenting quietly to each other. A bit frustrated, my translator made another attempt. Nothing. Finally a well-dressed young man squeezed over to me and spoke apologetically in quiet, perfect English, "I must tell you, Sir, your patient has three wives and twenty-seven children. We are, all of us, family."

It's little pastiches of his life over there that make it easier for me to not be the desperate milspouse. I know that he loves what he's doing and that his world is being expanded. He hates war, loves the people he's working with, finds great value and growth in helping the locals. It doesn't make the situation perfect, it doesn't mean that I worry less, but the fact that he's found a role over there helps me carry on with my life.

Are we milspouses a tough group? Not as tough as one might think. As I said to novelist Khanh Ha who grew up during the Vietnam war, "Though your experience was direct and mine is on the periphery, war is a part of both of us, whether or not we like it." The truth is that both of us have learned to get on with things. We are and will be forever putting this into perspective. But I still like a good laugh, I gasp when I see an unimpeded view of the valley outside, and I yearn for the day when a knock at the door can only mean the postman or a friend.

Broggers at Ras Vegas: Final Notes

Broggers with Guru Jihad Gene

Dear Jihad Gene,
Thank you for introducing the advanced platform "Mirrrbrrrogging." Brogging is so much more fun than blogging. I was happy to meet all the broggers and look forward to more adventures in the brogosphere!!!! May the scent of kimchee mixed in with the pungent odor of steer manure always guide you home.
Sincerely,
Great Reader

Dear Mr. Bouhammer,
This is in regard to your recent fashion faux pas, which necessitated expulsion from the Bellagio. To clarify: the Bermudas were not the issue, it was your unshaven legs. I mean, we are manly here, but that kind of manliness only exists in manlified places east of here where we never go. You know, like Hoover Dam. Even though you have altered my botoxed sensibilities, my boss Mr. Wynn has ordered me to apologize for calling you a brut. In addition, to atone for the rude behavior of my well-groomed minions, The Bellagio is sending you a case of Nair should you ever want to stroll through our door again.
Sincerely,
André (your not-so concierge)

Dear Boston Maggie,
Dahlink, kudos for correcting the Milbloggers' slovenly mispronunciation of the fastest growing social networking application evah. Barbarians! Birds twitter, but us broads Twittah.
Yours, mine, whatevah,
Nevah Bettah

Dear Chuck, Mrs. G, Laughing Wolf, and Toby,
Heya, the bottles you left behind have been melted down and turned into one giant beer stein. It will be delivered on the back of a 747, much like how we bring the space shuttle back home.
Over and out,
Don
Dear C.J.
That iPod Touch was mine and you know it.
-Hugh Hewitt

Tête à tête with the Navy

The recruitment station smack dab in Times Square

Phone rings.

"Hello?"
"Yes Ma'am, is your son (name redacted) home?"
"Why, no he's not, may I take a message (code for...he's sleeping his lazy ass off in bed)?"
"Yes, this is (name redacted) from the US Navy. We received his name from his high school graduation list. We'd like to speak with him about opportunities in the US Navy."
"Navy?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Well how would that work?"
"Ma'am?"
"I mean, we're an Army family."
"Army, Ma'am?"
"Yes, in fact The Hubs is deployed right now."
"I see Ma'am. Well, The Navy would be happy to talk to your son."
"Oh, well, now how would that work? He goes to Afghanistan, comes home and finds his son is in the Navy?"
Silence.
"No Ma'am. I don't suppose it would go over well."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Good bye, Ma'am"
"Good bye and Army Strong!"

Miltweets, Milfacers, Milbloggers at Blog World Expo

Popular mibloggers Tammy Munson, Jihad Gene and Laughing Wolf

This weekend I attended The Blog World Expo, a conference for social networking. Social networking, which is a term that didn't even exist 5 years ago, is what so many of now spend inordinate amounts of time doing.

The Blackfive milblog was there. Matt Burden, Mr. Wolf and Laughing Wolf did an exceptional job of running the milblogging plank on Thursday. What was so impressive were the number of high profile milbloggers who flew in for the event. This just wasn't the typical social networking, but resembled more like a reunion of friends who have a deep relationship based on a common experience --one only experienced by the less than 1% who serve.

Major Cosentino on the Hugh Hewitt Show

While this isn't the first generation, (Greyhawk wrote about them on the Mudville Gazette back in 2003), they've set a firm foundation for the second and third generations, who are well on their way. With Twitter and Facebook, even the US Army has jumped on the bandwagon with the Online & Social Media Division in January 2009. What the milblog world will be like in 5 years probably isn't apparent to us yet, but it was interesting to see the foundation continuing to propel itself forward.

Scott Henderson, the Cause Marketing Director from Media Sauce sat in on a panel and thought there remains much to be done in milblogging to inform, influence and ignite the public with its unique point of view and boots-on-the-ground reporting. While results of having binded together a close community is proven by the number of project milbloggers raise for such projects like Soldier's Angels or Project Valour IT, there remains the need for milbloggers to push the word out to mainstream blogs, tweets, and facebookers to the general public about what milblogs do.

Scott Henderson, Media Sauce

Boston Maggie, Mr. Wolf and Tom of Navy CyberSpace

Henderson, as well as others throughout the conference, pointed to the importance of video. Blogs will no longer be solely text driven. Blogs like Blackfive among many, incorporate interviews as well as commentary. Troy Steward at Bouhammer, and CJ Grisham at A Soldier's Perspective do a much-followed online radio show called "You Serve." They've also become sought after by various mainstream newsgroups such as the BBC. In Technorati terms, such cross platforming enhances one's authority. But as all blogs become multi-media, the ante goes up on not only production values, but also on muscular content to ensure there is an appeal for audiences with very large distribution bases such as Current TV. Current TV relies mainly on viewer participation for content.

Hugh Hewitt with CJ and Chuck Ziegenfuss

This expansion milblogging fills the void caused by the closure of many foreign news bureaus and a paucity of coverage of not only the news, but also to increase the understanding and humanizing the men and women in uniform. As Boston Maggie said, there is much work to be done to prevent being "so insulah." It will also help to go beyond the walls of the FOB blogosphere.

Part 2: War, Patient Confidentiality & Should I Be A Writer?

This is part two of a four part series on writing that appears every Friday.

Yup, this is about writing. But first let's examine how we got here.
Last Friday, I went over the reasons why patient confidentiality must be upheld by all those who provide care for the injured and sick during a time of war in the FST. Actually, this pertains to all health care providers --from clerks to doctors, and even insurance companies throughout the US at all hospitals and clinics.

If you send an email or letter to a relative who has a blog, you must be specific and say, "not for publication." If you send it in an email, you must write, "do not post, publish or forward this to anyone else." Better yet, do neither. But if you're prone to taking risks, then you must also tell them the reason they can't blab to Aunt Madge and let her put it on Facebook. And tell them the reason is due to patient confidentiality. If they break that rule, they are not only betraying you, they have betrayed the entire team, the patient and the patient's family. They have compromised your professional code of conduct. You could be out of a job.

Have healthcare professionals written books? Sure. Oliver Sacks has written several about specific patients without every divulging personal info. Check out The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat.

Okay, so let's get outta the healthcare mode and talk about writing. If you have a blog, you're already writing. It's one type of writing, but most people want to know about putting together a book.

Most of you have a journal or a blog. Blogs are part opinion, part newsreporter, part aggregates and part diary. One thing you can do is take your top 20 pieces and consider these your ROUGH materials.You'll play with these, rewrite or use them as a springboard for other idea. Remember, on the average, a book is between 50,000-80,000 words.

Fifty thousand? Eighty Thousand? That's right. According to Robert Bly:

The average nonfiction book is about 200 pages in typeset, published form, with approximately 400 words a page.

That's 80,000 words; about 320 double-spaced typewritten manuscript pages.

Your book might be longer or shorter, ranging from 35,000 words (a slim, 100 page volume) to 200,000 words or more.

But don't have to worry about publication just yet.
You don't even have a book. So relax. First, learn how to think like a writer and about writing. But I brought up the length because it's usually the first question to comes up. This doesn't mean that there are exceptions --a novella like Breakfast At Tiffanys? Probably less than 20,000 words. This was a very complete book with beginning middle and end, character evolution --the works. Or my friend Julie Carter's books, which are collections of her newspaper columns in the Ruidoso News on ranching and cowgirling. Hers are great reads too.

Just remember writing in itself takes time. And sometimes the subject matter you want to touch upon now, might require a space of time apart. Thus being said, war as always been a good top for books.

Let's take a look at what Ernest Hemingway wrote to F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925:

...."war is the best subject of all. It groups the maximum of material and speeds up the action and brings out all sorts of stuff that normally you have to wait a lifetime to get."

But then he also wrote to Russian Critic Ivan Kaskin in 1939:

.."in stories about the war, I try to show all the different sides of it, taking it slowly and honestly and examining it from many ways. So never think one story represents my viewpoint because it is much too complicated for that.

We know war is bad. yet sometimes it is necessary to fight. But still, war is bad and any man who says it is not is a liar. But it is very complicated and difficult to write about truly. For instance, to take it on a simply personal basis --in the war in Italy when I was a boy I had much fear. In Spain I had no fear after a couple of weeks and was very happy. Yet for me to not understand fear in others or deny its existence would be bad writing. It is just now that I understand the whole thing better...
I would like to be able to write understandingly about both deserters and heroes, cowards and brave men, traitors and ,en who are not capable of being traitors. We learned a lot about all such people."

Ingest this. Next Friday, we'll talk about starting.

Tweetless

I guess everyone at Blog World Expo in Las Vegas has been tweeting. I've been at the milblog panel all day, and found that Bouhammer is a huge twitterer. In this case though, looks like Twitter was tweetless, or twitted out. All in all, this is a group of dedicated, passionate WRITERS. There really is a sense of doing it for the greater good, and I think they find a lot of the camaraderie on the blogosphere that they had while in active duty.
As for twitter, I want to thank Boston Maggie for correcting awl of us t' say "Twittah."

A Bad Yoga Mat, Bringing Milblogging Outside and Viva Las Vegas

FST Kittens

Life is good. Except that I have lost my cell phone.
The Hubs is busy doing work that means a lot to him. Probably more than any other work he's done in his professional career as a surgeon.

I'm writing a lot. My own novel is in the throes rewriting the final draft --so what does this make it... the final final draft? I guess so. I've also been publishing "War Wife Weekly" updates over at Blogcritics. After reading the informational posts on Tim's Lynch's Free Range Int'l blog, it's clear that milblogs must aim for a broader platform. If we don't start submitting our better stuff to non military aggregates or blogs, then we've created a milblogging FOB. It really doesn't serve any other purpose than to keep telling one another what we all know. Hence, that's why you'll find my most recent article on Blogcritics right here.

As the masthead states, I write about my foray back into yoga. But for sure, it's not all tinkly music and stretching. There's a fair amount of bullshit within the popular yoga culture designed to part people with money in the name of "well being."

My mat was 4 years old. It was disintegrating and slippery. So I bought an anti-slip rubber mat parting with a dear $77. The new mat stank, and so I did the necessary things to clean it. But, still, no good. It did keep me from slipping but for a period of 3 weeks, but my eyes were puffy and I felt awful. This is when I found out I have a latex allergy. My yoga mat was making me sick.

So I wrote the manufacturer, and the president wrote back. He said to just put it in a shed for 3 weeks and it would be substantially better.

Huh? Was this a joke? Who buys a yoga mat only to use it in the future? Is this like a zen trick?
I had a good laugh, but he had the bigger one selling mats that stink and make your eyes swell. Rubber can give a person a rash, it can make it hard for them to breathe. They will feel unwell. In fact, in all hospitals there are non-latex gloves because a high proportion of health care providers have the allergy or develop it after years of using rubber. And this is some of the bullshit I'm speaking of when I see, "some people might be sensitive" on a yoga site. Sensitive hell, they might become unwell by a rubber mat.

So here's my advice. Don't buy a rubber yoga mat. It's like doing yoga on a rubber playground ball. The yoga community needs to take the pervasiveness of latex allergies seriously, and push the manufacturers not to equate "natural rubber" with "goodness."

Go for a non-latex, non-PVC mat. It's worth the money and costs less than rubber.

On Thursday I'm having dinner with 20 veterans and their spouses or SO's in Las Vegas. While I've worked with veterans before, it was always as a health care provider behind the desk ensuring to see their medical needs were met. So this will be nice because the relationship is completely different. This new world is the one in which the hubs intends to finish out the rest of his career (surgeons don't retire --they usually quit in their 70's). My next twenty years will revolve around yoga, writing, adult children and the military. Life with The Hubs has never been easy, in fact whether in private practice or in the military, it seemed we have always juggled and balanced. To think of being in the game when I'm past 65, let's just say it's gonna be interesting!

Life is good. Don't forget it.

Update From "Yogi E" or Less Stress With Phoenix Vets

Some good news to share regarding "THRIVE," the yoga-based stress reduction program for veterans, active duty and reserves. It's now in its trial run in Phoenix AZ and is led by former 9th Infantry Division soldier Eric Walrabenstein (a.k.a. Yogi E), who writes:

"The trial is going along well. Most participants remain fully engaged and are reporting quantum shifts in the reduction of their stress and well-being. I'll keep you posted as we move along."

I hope they stick with it, becoming regulars at YogaPura, his studio. And wouldn't it be super-great if after awhile, a few decide to take it all the way and become teachers themselves? From what I've observed, the popular yoga culture needs a wringing or two from teachers who have a bit of roadwear . Those individuals who have experienced the best and worst of humanity, have stared it in the eye and through it, have faced the truth about themselves.

Photo from The 9th Infantry Division Society

The original article on Eric may me found by clicking the first link above.

A Tribute To Our Military Health Care Providers

Well done.
I received notice that someone who had received care after being injured in war had put this together with his family. What I like about this is that it shows a constancy of care given to soldiers through the many wars we've been in.

Last year, I had the pleasure of attending a graduation at Fort Sam Houston of a class completing OBLC. All of them were health care professionals, and at that moment I felt the dedication and determination of these superb individuals. They come from all walks of life. They are young, middle aged, and some might even say old. (Though age is all relative to one's perspective). So enjoy this moving tribute done by a patient to say "thank you."

Great Writing

Every so often, I'm going to pop in with a very good book. The reason for putting them here is that they are often instructive on certain aspects of writing. Now, I don't care if you consider yourself a hard boiled soldier, good writing regardless of genre stands the test of time. It avoids cliche and stereotypes. So get this book, then watch the movie. Would I just love to see squirrels reading Breakfast At Tiffany's? Yes.

One of the most delightful things about the movie Breakfast At Tiffany's is entire passages of Truman Capote's book were used as dialogue. Each time I re-watch Breakfast At Tiffany's or reread the book, I'm just dumbfounded at all the small details Capote artfully got down on the page. It was with these details that he fleshed out the characters. Holly Golightly, Doc, Paul --were there ever such complex characters each filled with their own yearning? And who can ever forget the cat, and what it really meant?



The only person who could ever break your heart singing this song was Holly --played by Audrey Hepburn. The inclusion of music by Henri Mancini and lyrics by Johnny Mercer was a masterstroke in itself.

Hilarious: The Biden Monologues

I love irony and satire. In fact, I get into a lot of trouble because I do have a natural inclination that way. Nibras Kazimi, a visiting scholar at the Hudson Institute who writes "unconventional thinking about the Middle East" has hit the jack pot with
The Biden Monologues.
It's crazy. It's hilarious. It's worth of an audition tape to MadTV.

“The CIA must recruit handsome pigeons. Otherwise, we can recruit ordinary looking pigeons and give them expensive plastic surgery treatments, feather-implants and what not. These pigeons will be trained to intercept and seduce the female carrier pigeons that work for Al-Qaeda." -by Nibras Kazimi on his blog, Talisman Gate