Chapter+17

**My Personal Short Story in Iraq

It was a dark and cold morning on the Iraqi base in which I live. For me, as an American soldier in the Army Special Forces and being on a one year tour of duty in Iraq, where I shared meals, slept and fought beside a different culture, which is the Iraqi culture, this feeling for me was very different. One morning when I heard the sound of a hundred different muezzins calling Muslim men and women to prayer. I had to run about 100 feet through the hot and dusty air, to go pray. From there I had to run or walk one mile to get to my work in the Iraqi base. Just thinking about how I will have to do this same routines and ritual over and over again tired me out. While I was running I saw nothing but brown dust and felt the brown, rough, sand attacking my eyes. I remember also when I ran around the neighborhood how it felt so much different, feeling that beautiful, smooth and cool breeze of Southern California. Also how I saw, while I was running the pretty green plants and the unique different colored flowers and how the flowers smelled beautiful in every different house that I passed by. As I kept on running through Iraqi brown desert lands I saw some palm trees which reminded me of the palm trees that I have in my home in America. When I finally approached this restaurant on the way, I go in to take a break and I see and realize how differently their behavior, morals, and beliefs were and also how they greet each other. After I closed the brown door, I saw a man with his beautiful child. As I walked closer to the man the little boy went behind his dad as if he was unsecured. On my way to trying to greet the man I felt this isolation that ran through my blood while I said inshallah, “God willing”, as a response to the mans greeting. All of the sudden, I felt the gentle hand of the little boy trying to shake my hand and smiling at me while I shake his warm hand. As the little innocent boy kept on smiling at me I no longer feel that apart from the Islamic culture. And feel that I fit in while everyone said “Peace be upon you” and I also peacefully respond back “Peace be upon you too”.** By:VelasquezJ

Edmonds, Bill. "Soldier Story." The Naion 26/11/2006 6. 01/June/2007 