Hi guys! I just came back from the YMCA Triangle Y Ranch summer camp yesterday, and I had a great time there! I slept in a cabin with 11 other boys and 2 counselors. We had activities such as archery, swimming, dancing, volleyball, riflery, horseback riding, and many other things. We also had a treasure hunt, the game capture the flag, a dance night, and I skit night on the last day. I had a great time at summer camp. I made a lot of new friends there as well. One time, a helicopter came and a firetruck and some other things such as the National Guard! Are you guys doing any summer camp over the summer? If so, what is it called, and tell me about it when you come back.
17 comments:
Your campy sounds great. I used to love going to summer camp. I would go to Boy Scout Camps every summer. Sometimes I would go to 2 a summer. They were always a lot of fun. I always liked the campfires and skits. What did you like the best?
My summer camp was really fun! I probably liked making all the new friends there the most, but I also enjoyed the rock climbing.
Hey Parker. Thats cool.
Thanks. I like doing the blogs.
I'm at summer camp now! The Army calls it Camp Anaconda, the Air Force calls it Joint Base Balad. I'm joking of course, but this deployment to Iraq is like a summer camp that lasts 4 months. I work Monday through Saturday from 7am to 5pm. Luckily, I love my job and over the years I've gotten pretty good at it. Remember, practice is the key to learning. I plan to make a video of what a typical day is like for me in Balad, Iraq.
Love, Dad
Can't wait to see the video. Your summer camp is very long! Hope you don't get bored of the same daily schedule.
Love,
Parker
--Summer Camp in Balad, Iraq--
I worked with the 'maintainers'. They have different jobs which are given funny titles: the tire kickers, the spark chasers and the B-B stackers. These titles refer to the mechanics, the electricians and the weapons loaders. I learned how a jet engine works. Basically, "Suck, Squeeze, Blow". The air is sucked into the engine, compressed together with a mist of jet fuel, ignited, and finally blown out the exhaust. I helped do the pre-flight inspection of a F-16! I followed the maintainer as he walked right under the engine exhaust...several times! The temperature was 120 degrees as I walked across the tarmac, within 50 feet of two F-16's as they roared into the sky.
Love,
Dad
Wow! Really neat! So are you going to get to take a ride in a jet?
In Iraq no one except the pilots and the 'maintainers' are allowed near the cockpit of the F-16. At Davis-Monthan, F-16 rides are given to a few people; however, I really don't want to fly in the F-16. I have many fighter pilots as patients--they develop chronic neck pain from the tremendous G-forces on their body.
Two V-22 Osprey landed at our hospital helopad! It was late at night and I did not see them land. I heard them! They are much louder than Blackhawk helicopters. Some information about the V-22 Osprey: It can fly at a maximum altitude of 26,000 feet, about 15,000 feet higher than a helicopter. This innovative aircraft can also fly nearly twice as fast and three times farther than a helicopter and needs less runway length than a traditional airplane—just under 500 feet. I will send you a picture of the Osprey.
Love,
Dad
Wow! That's neat! I didn't know it caused that much pain in the neck.
More news from my Summer Camp in Iraq.-- I won a camera! A Canon PowerShot A580 Digital Camera with 8 MegaPixals. How did I win? Well, the Medical Group's Booster Club held the "Balad County Fair." Different clinics within the hospital created games and booths. Players won tickets by competing in simple games: toss a football through a tire, make baskets from different spots, hit a golf ball into a laundry bin, and so on. My Physical Therapy clinic had two games. The first was a ring toss; we used the legs of an upside-down walker as the 'sticks' to ring. The second game had people try to balance on a BOSU Ball while holding a ring with both hands. We tossed beanie babies at them and they had to get three through the ring. I won 10 tickets by hitting two golf balls into the laundry bin. How did I win? I placed some tickets in a giant cup for the Canon camera and viola -- I won! There were many cups to choose from and I put tickets in the giant cups for an iPod, a $50 Starbucks gift certificate, $50 BX gift certificate and others. Luckily, my tickey was pulled and I won the camera! I soon send some pictures using the new camera.
Love,
Dad
Still more news from my Summer Camp in Iraq. I also won a chocolate cake during a musical chairs game! The game started with eight players and eight chairs. When music started we walked around metal folding chairs and the judges took away one chair! When the music stopped everyone scrambled to find a chair. I was lucky; the woman ahead of me was aggressive! She used her hips to push at least three men off chairs and onto the ground. She eliminated the competition until it was just the two of us! I'm very quick and mananged to sit down without her getting a chance to hip slam me to the ground. As winner, I picked out a nice chocolate cake with thin, waves of blue icing. I shared the cake with the rest of the staff. Delicious with oatmeal for breakfast the next morning.
Love,
Dad
That's totally awesome! Hope you have fun taking pictures with your new camera! You must be pretty quick to avoid her hip slamming!
SO the cake was good?
I rode a Gary Fischer Mountain bicycle for 110 kilometers today! This was part of the Hotter'n Hell 100 ride that takes place at Wichita Falls, Texas. I got up at 3:30 and rode a stationary bike for 20 miles until first light at 5am. Then I rode with Lt Col Beals, outside on the base streets for 110 miles. We rode along a route that I came up with -- a 10 kilometer loop! Everyone said they liked the route! The temperature reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) but it was overcast most of the day which made the ride much more comfortable than if the overhead sun was blazing the whole time. An additional 15 miles on a stationary bike put me at 103 miles (165.7 km). What did I get? A Hotter'n Hell 100 T-shirt and Water Bottle.
Love, Dad
Awesome! That's a lot of biking!
My summer camp in Iraq is almost over! Hopefully, in 5 days I fly to Qatar and have a two day layover in this hot, white and desolate place. After a short refueling stop somewhere in Europe the plane flys to the USA. I overnight in Baltimore and switch planes in Phoenix before finally landing in Tucson on 13 Sep. -- What did I learn? Some Iraqi's are very pessimistic about the future of their country. In fact, most people view themselves as either Sunni or Shia and not as Iraqi. It will take generations before boiling grudges simmer down and disappear. One Iraqi translater said the grudges will remain, she said "people here like to argue about something, anything." However, people are people and things will change. Several Iraqi patients will stick in memory. For instance, the kind older man who taught me the Arabic words "Haraka Baraka" which mean "motion is a blessing." I tell my patients that "Motion is Lotion." This man's right leg had a non-union of his the tibia but he did not want a bone graft to help it heal. He also has heart problems. I'll remember the thoughtful Army soldier who worked as an Arabic translator. She gave me a Rosetta Stone CD because she knew I was trying to learn Spanish. In return, I will give her the wonderful bicycle I used to quickly travel around Joint Base Balad and rode 110 kilometers in the Hotter'N Hell 100. Because I love to ride, that bicycle gave me the joy of motion and a way to release stress. It is a cherished gift that I hope she'll enjoy. Of course, I'll remember the people who worked together with me in Physical Therapy. We helped each other stay focused and positive. Well, I gotta go -- we just had an Alarm Red -- I've got to go sign in for accountability. An Alarm Red means a mortar attack occurred. Iraq is still a dangerous place and will be for years. This is my last blog from "summer camp Iraq". See you soon!
Love,
Dad
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