Homeward Bound

If all goes according to plan, this should be my last post from Iraq. Although I tried to sneak out today, first on a scheduled flight, and later by Space-A, things didn't work out. For having the entire day "off" I sure don't feel like I rested. In order to try to go Space-A, I had to wake up at 4am just to sign up for a flight. When I did finally wake up, and headed off to shower, I returned to find my room locked (with my key inside) and my roommate/replacement off on a 5-mile run. Various attempts to get a backup key failed until he returned. By the time I finished packing and had lunch, it was time to go up to the terminal to try to catch a flight. By the time I got back from that failed attempt, it was dinner time. Only now, in the evening, do I have some time to kick back. Well, at least I'm not complaining about being bored in Kuwait!

Several readers have been leaving comments recently on how much they've enjoyed reading over the last year. Thank you all for the kind words. It has been a fun part of my routine and a great way of helping the time go by. I do hope you've found some other great blogs, including some of the newly arrived folks, that you'll enjoy reading. As for the Desert Periscope, I expect to end this particular journal when I return home. I'm still deciding whether to start another blog (and on what subject) or fade back into the void of cyberspace. Suggestions are welcome!

As a final note, during my 4 years at the Naval Academy, I had a tradition of playing Simon and Garfunkel's song "Homeward Bound" the day before I returned for leave. It's appropriate now as I begin my journey back to home and family, and I've got the mp3 playing as I conclude this post.

"Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me"