Two months down!
On the up side: things seem to be going by quickly and we are getting lots of things accomplished.
On the down side: it is getting very hot around these parts. I have been told that we will see 130 degrees Fahrenheit before long and maybe even 140!
In the background of the photograph is the back up spillway of the Soviet built Duranta Dam. The dam is an excellent bit of engineering that is still working well despite the best efforts of Afghan chaos. The fellows that maintain its three hydro electric generators told me that they have never taken the equipment down for scheduled maintenance. Evidently, they only conduct maintenance when the equipment is hard-broke (i.e: completely stops running). That this thing is still going is nothing shy of miraculous. My hat is off to Russian engineers everywhere!
As always it is good to hear from you and see your face. 130 degree heat does not sound even earth-like. Venus gets that hot. When I was in Chennai, India the air was so hot no one would tell me the temperature, I think for fear the news would be too great a shock, and that couldn't have been more that 105. Maybe 110 on the pavement. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Should I send Gatoraide mix and Pedialyte? Do the Afghans go out in the daytime? Are there parts of your rifle you can touch in heat like that? I know sons and daughters of ours have been there before and I hope a strategy for copeing with the summer heat has been well thought out by now. I also know that youth is more resilient and adaptive than age, I did live in the tropics as a teenager you will recall me telling you, and I did just fine, thrived even. But 130! Now I wilt at just the thought of it. God bless you and your people, and hydate, hydate.
I enjoyed your comments on the Dam.
Love, dad