Day 13 - Desert Deprivation

All good things must come to an end. This is a well known statement, a part of life. Before making it to Iraq, this statement had no significance to me, having only applied to my life a few times to date. Today was one of those days. One thing that we Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines here cherish is the nightly club-style events that we have grown accustom to.

As I was in the morale tent checking email and sending messages to friends back home, I looked forward to the weekend because two of my favorite dance nights were approaching: salsa night and hip-hop night. As I closed out of the web browser and headed towards the exit, I noticed a sign taped to the door of the dance hall. “ALL DANCE LESSON CLASSES ARE CANCELLED”. Devastated, I walked to the counter to ask why. Even the civilian working was baffled as she felt dance nights were an essential and vital part of the base, giving troops a time to relax and remember a sparkle of life back home.

As I waited for the bus, I talked with others who stood close-by waiting, upset about the decision the base leadership had made. The ride back to work was a long one, full of disgust and disbelief. So upset about the situation, I hadn’t noticed that I had boarded the wrong bus and ended up on the other side of base that evening. With the temperature just about 40, I walked back, kicking rocks and playing with the charging handle of my rifle.

Back at the office, I walked in and told the others the news. In utter amazement, everyone began to question the decision…all but one. With a sinister smile, he stepped back to watch his frustrated coworkers throw a fit. As we were looking at the negative side of things, he was looking towards the future. He knew that we had been looking for a way to get more people to come out to our BBQs and movie nights on our patio. The sole reason we built it was because we wanted to build bonds and relationships with others across the base.

Once he revealed his ideas to us, everyone set to work. They began to compose a list to send out to all the close contacts they had across the base. Within minutes, we had organizations looking to donate food, drinks, and supplies for the upcoming weekend. They too were looking for an alternative place to hang out during the evening and little time we had to ourselves on the weekends.

After we had most of the arrangements, we began to send out emails to close friends that we knew. I compiled a list of friends in the Air Force while they worked on the Marines here. In all, trying to keep the list as small as possible to prevent our nights from being invaded and possibly shut down, 30 people were invited for the weekend.

Though the saying is true that all good things must come to an end, I was raised on another saying. God never closes a door without opening a window. Times seemed to be horrible as one of our only sources of enjoyment and entertainment had be abruptly taken away from us. At the same moment, we had been provided a way to keep spirits high for the holiday season. Now that our patio was complete, food and drinks were ready, and we had recently installed our projection screen, we would very soon bring joy and holiday cheer to many others. To celebrate our triumphing and plans for the coming days, we all went out to our little area, lit a fire, and sat down to watch another movie for the evening. That day, some tried to deprive us of what meant so much to many. That day, we denied their desert deprivation.