There were a
couple of other marines in Gunny’s unit who were scheduled to transfer out to
their intended destination earlier than the rest. One was named Blosser.
He too, was another young, lean marine. As he explained it, his body type was relatively new to
him. Apparently, he was a chubby
kid. After losing much weight
(compliments of Marine Corps boot camp), he vowed to keep the weight off. He was determined to keep this promise
to himself by regularly visiting the gym and watching what he ate. I’m sure he saw me as the devil
whenever I offered him any one of a variety of sweets from my care
packages. Whenever I mentioned
that he should start eating more to improve his skinny physique, he assured me
that, in fact, he ate a lot – he just stayed away from junk foods, and tried to
eat lots of veggies. He might be
in the right place for eating healthy.
I’ve noticed
that fruits and veggies do seem to thrive I this country. Our rides through the bazaars are
complete with shops, one after another, each displaying their colorful displays
of the seasonal harvest. While I’m
not sure if they’re imported from neighboring countries, I imagine the local
soil around Kabul is highly fertile.
The type of fertilizer however, is suspect.
A delivery of cauliflower headed to one of the bazaars |
In January
of 2010 a journalist in Kabul wrote about its air quality. He reported that in addition to the
uncontrolled emissions of vehicles, gas-powered generators, and the burning of
trash for heat, there were no sewer systems; so the human waste that’s simply
dumped outside of many peoples’ homes, dries and gets carried by the
winds. Since there’s (literally)
so much crap in the air, I guess whatever doesn’t get stuck to our nose hairs,
sucked into our lungs, or rubbed into our eyes, eventually makes its way into
the soil. While I don’t know
what’s in the fruits and veggies, they sure look good!
While I’m on the
subject of food, I may as well describe the meat markets! Along the roads,
butchers display their products in front of their shops. The skinned carcasses hang from hooks
in the open air, unrefrigerated.
Every now and then, also lying on the ground in the vicinity of the once
breathing cow would be its un-skinned head, for presentation. Often neatly placed next to the head
were the feet. Presumably, this is
to show that yes, the meat that one sees hanging before them, did indeed, come
from this cow. What one can tell
from a head and feet, I don’t know.
Some mental assembly required... |
One day
around lunchtime, Gunny was in the mood for a local meal. He decided to buy lunch for anyone that
was hungry. He gave money to one
of LA’s, who traveled to one of the shops outside of the compound, and shortly
returned with some kabobs. Later
on, as we were preparing to leave, Gunny asked me if I had eaten any of the
kabobs. After I told him I hadn’t,
he was apologetic (after learning that his Marines and the LA’s had eaten most
of them), and assured me that he would buy more next time.
When it was time
to leave, Naeem, one of the LA’s, hitched a ride with us. Since he was busy translating a class,
he missed lunch. Once in the
truck, he quickly tore into the food that someone had saved for him. As he ripped open the wrappings, the
smell of the kabobs filled the cab.
He graciously offered to share his meal with me and Greg. While I too, was famished, I didn’t
want to take food from the poor guy, so I declined. Greg did likewise.
Looking in the rear view mirror, I could see Naeem, stuffing the meat
and some bread into his mouth. As
he did so, his cheeks grew to what looked like twice their size. As I watch him continue to pack the
food into his mouth, I was reminded of the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest in
Coney Island. I was hopeful that
Greg wouldn’t have to jump into the back to perform the Heimlich maneuver on
him. Obviously, he was hungry, so
I was glad I didn’t take any of his meal.
Naeem, aka, Ricky Martin (see it)? We often dropped him off on our return trips from the compound. |
The following
morning, I woke before the alarm went off. As had become the routine, I fired up my laptop to get the
latest update on the status of the routes we would take to the training
compound. While it was warming up,
I took the short walk to the storage trailer that was converted for bathroom
use. As I entered the latrine
trailer, I heard the loud sound of someone heaving in the toilet. The noises that came from the stall,
emanated from way down, deep in his belly. It was a deep, rich, retching that almost sounded
alien. The poor soul seemed to
continue expelling his stomach contents continuously, pausing only to take a
few short breaths, and then started all over again. I walked through the door that separated the sinks from the
toilets and urinals to brush my teeth.
A few wash basins to my right, a French soldier was washing up. As the puking continued, we briefly
looked at each other and smiled (no motherly instincts here). He said something in heavily accented
French to the effect of, “He shouldn’t be drinking the local water.” I was tempted to say that the fellow’s
condition was probably due some bad French wine that was smuggled in; but not
wanting to be the cause of some international incident at Camp Phoenix, I took
the high road and just nodded. As
I left the building the guttural gurgling sounds continued, but faded as I got
further and further away.
Within a few
minutes of returning to the B-hut, I learned that all of the routes had “gone
black”. This condition meant that
the threat status was particularly high, and that no movement was allowed
outside the camp. The Marines and
our group met in front of the hut to discuss the threat. While we were talking, I noticed
Blosser, with one of his hands to his stomach, looking particularly pale.
“Was that you in the head
this morning?” I asked.
“You heard me puking?”
“Who didn’t,” I said, “Did
you have one of those kabobs, yesterday?”
“Yeah, it hit me about 4 in the morning, and I’ve been sick
ever since.”
With that, he quickly
turned and headed for the latrines for another session with the bowl.
…Note to self: Don’t eat anything at the training compound!