OF MICE AND SNAKES

Well it's another windy day in paradise. Not really a sand storm but lots of wind. You have to be careful opening some doors. If you let go, they'll fly off the hinges. I really hate the wind because I cannot wear my contact lenses. I have nice glasses but they never feel the same as contacts.

Today is first night of Passover. I've been involved with the Jewish Chapel here assisting with Passover preparations. We have a Jewish Chaplain (Rabbi) who flew in from the States. He makes it his goal to be with the troops during the Holidays. His family must be understanding.

We've been receiving tons of Passover goodies from the military and mainly civilian groups back in the States. It's nice to know we are being remembered, particularly at this time of year. So I have no worries about eating matzo all this coming week. There's also preparations for Easter going on.

Every unit has a chaplain whose job is not only to provide religious services but to be a supporting hand to the individual sailor and Marine that needs to talk to someone. I don't condone smoking cigarettes but in this case our chaplain's pipe (tobacco) habit has served him well. You can pick up a fair bit of information by the smoke pit (actually it's a gazebo) and so the Chaplain can get a sense of the unit's morale by just hanging out. He's a good sort, easy to talk to, and ready to take or give a joke. He's also had to deal with serious issues along the way, including providing training on suicide prevention. Unfortunately, there's been too many deaths by suicide of young soldiers this year. None from our Battalion but we are always on the alert. Being away from home, not having a regular life, combat stress; all of these are potential catalysts that can lead to suicide. We are all involved in learning the signals and to helping our fellow sailor/soldier who may be in trouble.

On a happier note, I have a mouse friend in the Officer's wardroom. I was watching a movie last evening in the wardroom, which is a room with a large TV, movies, books, a fridge, and microwave, just reserved for the officers (we're not elitist, the Chiefs and 1st Classes have their own facility as well). It really belongs to the Junior Officers (JOs) but all officers can use it. When we took it over from the previous Battalion it was a little dusty and had tons of old boxed food in it. It should have all been thrown out then. On top of that, the JOs had a cook out two weeks ago and left the buns sitting in the wardroom. They weren't moldy but were certainly stale. So I'm watching the movie and I hear tiny sounds. I look over and there's a really cute mouse nibbling on the food. Of course there's the accompanying mouse poop and potential for problems. Just yesterday, we were sent an advisement to keep our spaces clean as during this time of year the snakes like to come out. And they like the rodents. So where there's mice, there's going to be snakes. So I wrote an email to the Senior JO strongly suggesting he organize the other JOs to clean up the mess. He took care if it this morning. But what a cute mouse. Hannah/Erica, don't worry, the mouse will find another home!

I hope that everyone is doing well and coming out of the cold weather okay. Happy Passover to my Jewish friends and family and Happy Easter to all my Christian friends.