Monday, August 03, 2009

Conversations I never expected to have.....


After being in Iraq a while I began to notice that I could distinguish among the various kinds of rotary-wing aircraft that were common in the skies above Baghdad without even seeing them. I'd never expected to be able to do that, as I wrote in this blog.

I've also found myself having conversations I'd never have dreamed of having.

F'rinstance:

A former Marine (there's no such thing as an "ex-Marine"!) was telling a group of us about his experiences with the Corps before he joined the Army.

"When we were in P.I., there were bamboo bats that lived there. There's a kind of bamboo that grows really tall and becomes very fat. The inner chambers of each stalk are sealed. These bats would chew a tiny hole into the bamboo and hang upside-down from the roof of the compartment, safe from most predators.

"Except us.

"We'd look for those holes, and during the day stuff leaves and twigs into them so the bat sleeping inside couldn't escape. Then we'd cut the bamboo above and below the margins of that chamber.

"Once the noise inside stopped after we threw the bamboo into the fire, we knew the bat was ready.

"There's not much meat on them -- you can really only eat the breast, rather like a chicken -- so it takes a fair number of them to make a meal."

A conversation I could probably rather have done without, all things considered.

Blessings and peace to one and all,


Fr. Tim, SJ

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

So, at some future date when you've retired from the Army, you can write a cook book on the exotic dishes you now know how to prepare !!!

Yummmmm!

msg :-)))

 
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