Captain, My Captain

I got word from John on Monday. I went to see 'The Ugly Truth' in theatres (it was funny) and missed two calls from him during it. Thankfully he left voice mails so I got to hear his voice. He also sent me an email. It was so great hearing from him and how the journey is going. They were still on their way over to Iraq but not without some very awesome stops. Tuesday he stopped in Crete which is very exciting considering how crazily into history John is. If you don't believe me, here is a reference. I know there's another reference somewhere in this blog about how differently we explain things and tell stories but for the life of me, I can't find it. It's very humorous though. John has a brain for containing things. And I think I have a brain for creating things. John definitely retains so much more information than I ever could which makes him very good at his job. It also makes me sound like an idiot whenever I try telling a story. "I don't remember exactly how it went or if it happened to this guy or maybe actually it might have been this other guy but ANYWAY. Basically (my favorite word) they went to this one place whose name I can't remember and I can't remember if it was a Japanese tradition or a Chinese tradition but ANYWAY, they..." You get the picture. John on the other hand explains the same story like this: "Oh yeah, that was Robert Druids the third who was the son of Robert Druids the second who actually invented gun powder 17 centuries before the Chinese. He lead an army of French rebels to the Castle of Tuit in Southern France near the border of Switzerland (hence the name of the castle) and there they pillaged and plundered the villagers for they were of Japanese descent and the code of the law in those days of France permitted them the right to..." You get the picture. Hehe...makes me giggle thinking about it.
Since then I've had several phone calls, emails, etc. with him. He had a wonderful time in Crete and said the view from their hotel was the most beautiful he'd ever seen from a hotel stay. He was a little blue landing in Iraq finally (but thoroughly enjoyed the flight there flying over the Nile and seeing Egypt) but was cheered up by a care package I sent ahead of him. I was stoked to hear it beat him there! I guess mail doesn't take as long as I thought. He's doing well and keeps very busy, as am I. I've barely had time to do laundry this week because I've filled every moment of every day with DOING things. I have yet to call several friends back who wanted to check up on me. Sorry guys! Will soon! Been so busy. I've never been one to really care when the mail comes but now I find myself peeking out the window to see if the flag is down (I have gotten into the habit of writing John a letter every night. I'm very proud of myself for keeping at it. So every morning, the flag goes up and another letter awaits the post woman). It's strange to think he's only been gone a week. It feels like a month at least.
The biggest news came the other day. John was officially promoted to Captain!! I'm SO proud of him and know he has truly worked his butt off for this. Whether I want to or not, the only words that come to mind are from 'The Dead Poet's Society' which I told John I would say when he got promoted: "Captain, My Captain!"