http://slow.writerscafe.org/SMAC The original writings of author S.Mac en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1776166225 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 I’m not really sure where I am right now. It’s 0245 on 6SEP08 and I’m sitting on the steps in front of my room. So I know where I am physically. I know I’m in Iraq. I know I’m in Baghdad. I know I’m on Camp Liberty. I’m on pad 15, in front of room 265C,But.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/594746/ I never realized exactly how much I loved this turret. Even just sitting here writing this I feel comfortable. I’m more at home sitting on this sling in full battle-rattle than I am sleeping in my own bed, whether that bed is here in Iraq, in Missouri, or in Massachusetts at my parents’ .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/594745/ Everyone has a purpose in life. Everyone is useful for one thing or another. Everyone’s purpose changes as they grow. A student is for the purpose of learning. A teacher for teaching. A mother and father for raising children. A mechanic fixes machines. A scientist for discovering. A soldier fo.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/594743/ defeated heart held in tired chest http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/323514/ Loneliness http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321939/ A flash of light. A ball of fire thrown high into the sky over Baghdad. A brief glimpse at what could have happened to me, or the truck behind me. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321349/ Saturday morning. 0150. I wake up thirsty, and in a pain. My lower back feels pinched. Lower back pain is nothing new to me, though, so I ignore it... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321348/ Yesterday was our "day off." ... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321347/ My driver gets out of the truck to grab a bottle of water. Usually that only takes two or three minutes. Fifteen minutes later, he's still gone... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321345/ I have plenty of energy today, but all I want to do is go back to my room and sleep... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321344/ It really hurts when a soldier visibly does everything in their power to please a leader, and the leader only notices the bad... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321343/ Sometimes I wonder how I will leave this world... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321342/ Five times a day the call to prayer sounds through out Baghdad... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321340/ Everything here that is touched by the sun, no matter how slight that touch is, catches fire... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321339/ Some soldiers keep good luck charms in their truck with them... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321338/ A day dream. That's all. Wide awake and still dreaming... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321336/ I'm tired, worn out, about to break. I'm threaded so thin you can see through me. I'm a ghost. A ghost of a once-great soldier. A ghost haunting the staging area of my squad's trucks, mounting a .50 cal in a confused and tired stupor... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321335/ The world is yellow today... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321333/ Sometimes when we roll out, I feel like we shouldn't be out there that day. Sometimes when we roll out, I feel like *I* shouldn't be out there that day... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321332/ There's a lot to learn when the Army decides to send you thousands of miles away from home to fight a war that doesn't make sense... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321330/ The crazy things that go through my head in Iraq. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/SMAC/321329/