Way to be Retired Old Man!: A little Art, Food Fun, Running, and MWR

The Embassy in Kabul has featured one of RC-South’s (my organization here in Kandahar) own. Skip Rohde was a State Department District Stabilization Team member in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province. Skip spent one year in country advising Afghan leaders, military officers and State Department staff. An accomplished artist, he would often take out his sketch book during meetings and encounters with local Afghans and do portraits of them. See the video that features Skip Rhode’s art work at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWjY9FlnJ8I

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the DFACs here on the airbase. Well, I was just introduced to another blog that deals specifically with our DFACs. Just DFACs Ma’am is a pretty humorous blog that really gets to the meat of DFAC eating here on KAF (pardon the pun). Enjoy it at this link: http://justdfacsmaam.wordpress.com/

I had another good week of running, capping off a 34 mile week with a 14.5 mile run this morning. As I set out, the sky was overcast and it had just rained, for the first time here in Kandahar! The low cloud ceiling held in all the noxious mix of fumes from the local trash incinerator, the pooh pond and all the vehicle exhaust which made the air pretty raunchy. As time went by, the sky cleared and the breeze kicked in to cleare the air. The rain kept the dust down so it turned out to be rather nice with temperatures in the low 70s when I finished up.

Terry knows that I have been working on little projects to help raise morale and provide some leisure-time activities here at our little compound on the base. Called Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) by the military, these items have been well-received by the folks here. Terry actually sent me horseshoes and a dart board! The next few pictures capture some of the work.