Last Friday, I happened to catch my brother online as he was waiting out his layover in Leipzig, Germany with the rest of his unit on their way to Iraq. If he had been in Frankfurt, I would have hopped on a train immediately to meet him, if only for a few minutes; as it was, we managed a conference call over skype between Michael, myself in Saarbrücken, my parents in Los Angeles, and his wife Jen (on her iPhone) on the road from Arizona to Texas. Ask me why I love technology.
This morning I caught him online again, this time in Fallujah, still waiting to make the remaining hour-long trip into Baghdad. Internet access, which cost him $10/hr in Leipzig, appeared to be free for him on a shared terminal, or $5/hr using his own laptop and a satellite connection. He’s promised to send me pictures as soon as he gets his camera working. All those troops of yesteryear who waited weeks or months to get letters from their families while fighting overseas, and we get video conferencing whenever he plugs in. Ask me again why I love technology.
It was my mother’s idea, but my little brother’s such a big softy that I know he’ll appreciate it. If you see me wearing red on Fridays, it’s not that I’m living with HIV/Aids, or that I’m saying ‘No to Drugs’, or that I am protesting the war, or making any kind of political statement whatsoever. I’m wearing red on Fridays as a token of faith and support for my brother, until he comes home safely to his wife and family.
