DwayneEMTP Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 It looks like I'm going back to Kandahar for a while. And that's ok. Though I was talking to another medic that had worked there, and had worked with the Afg Nationals...he said, "I fucking hated it there! Everyone smells like ass!" You see, they don't wash much, as there's not much water...I wanted so badly to tell him, though he'd have never understood, "They don't smell like ass...they smell like war, and desperation, and fear...and, believe it or not, joy. It's the smell of people that have had to tweezer shrapnel out of their children and watch them die. There is a reason you don't smell like them. It's because you're blessed to smell like soap...a gift that many people in the world may never know." That is my wish for all of my friends and family for the coming year..May you realize the joy, and freedom, and safety that comes with the smell of soap and water...That men, women and children at least as good, and kind, and Pius, and as worthy as you may know it only once a year, or perhaps even more seldom... When you shower, notice that smell and know that it is smell of the privileged... Happy New Year all.... Dwayne 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nypamedic43 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 It is so easy to forget what we have. The things we take for granted...like soap and water and freedom to say what we want and worship who we want are things that some people have nor will ever know. It's quite humbling to know that. That something as simple ( to us) like soap and water is a luxery there. That females here are equal to men not subservient as they are there and in other places in the world. We have so much to be thankful for because of the sacrifices of those that have come before us, because of those that fight for freedom, and its a hard won war. Freedom won, which sits on a foundation of blood and sacrifice and pain. Here's hoping that the people of Afghanistan soon know what soap and water is like on a daily basis and that the freedoms that we enjoy here, are soon thier's as well. Happy New Year everyone.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFIB Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 We are so blessed. We flip a switch and have lights, heat in the winter, air-conditioning in the heat. We eat more in one meal than many have in days, we shower inside our homes with hot water and gripe if the pressure falls below 60 lbs/in, we get to go to the bathroom without going outside and have paper to wipe with, our waste is piped underground and treated, not running in the street or dropping into a pit. Our streets are paved and well lighted. Our livestock lives on farms and does not sleep in our living room, Our children have vaccinations and the first five years of their life has not been declared “the valley of death”. We get to sleep without hearing automatic gunfire or wondering if we will be killed because of our cast, religion or ethnicity. We are blessed indeed and yes we get to smell like soap, in fact we have our choice of soaps the ones that disinfect and the ones that make you soft. Soap that exfoliates and soap that are humectants. Designer soaps for men and for women. We have baby soap and adult soap. Hypoallergenic soap and skin clearing soap. Soap for dry, normal and oily skin. Many, many choices of soaps, almost as many as our blessings. Dwayne, thank you for the reminder and your good wishes. May we all always be privileged enough to smell like soap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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