33%...

Hello All,

33% represents my completion rate of my current tour.  That's right...been here almost exactly 4 months.  The precise date of my 4 month mark coincidently coincides with the 10 year anniversary of my father's death.

Hard to believe it has been ten years.  My dad was a great man.  Few people can say that they made a difference in the world...he did.  Dad ran his own successful business (yes, he did build that), employed people, raised a family along with my mother, mentored 1000s of young people through the church, served the community, served his country, and made his own plum wine (ok, that didn't change the world but I always thought is was pretty cool).  Turns out, he was a good friend too and I miss him.

So, let's celebrate his life and not his death.

So, 4 months gone, 8 months to go.  August is almost over and September seems like it is over but hasn't even started yet.  I will be off the island almost continuously after the first week of September.  I leave on the 9th for a week long conference in Garmish, Germany, which is about an hour and a half outside of Munich (love that city!).  Straight from Germany, I will travel to the capital of Jordan, Amman, for another week long conference.  After that, back to Bahrain for a couple of days before I fly back to Hometown, USA, to be by my wife's side for her procedure.  I will not be back in Bahrain until the 2nd of Oct, at which point I will be 30 days from the half way mark.

Oh, I thought of a couple of more things I like about Bahrain...playing Texas Holdem' every Friday night and smoking a cigar every morning.  I smoke with the guy I sit next to at work who also enjoys cigars.  It is funny that the 3 months between Djibouti and Bahrain, I didn't smoke any.  Once back in the states, I'm sure I will revert back to one a month.  I just don't have anyone to smoke cigars with back home and it is not something I really do by myself.

Well, not much else going on.  Guess that is a good time to close for the week.

School has started or will start soon (depending on where you live).  Watch out for the kids.

Michael