Follouwup: HALLELUJAH!
I just got e-mail from my dad that my cousin is safely out of Iraq, and by now is probably on a plane from Kuwait City to Heathrow and is due to arrive home tomorrow.
Words cannot express how relieved we all are (or how excited I will be to talk to him, once he’s had a chance to rest and recoup and squeeze the wife and munchkins and all). It was pretty hairy for a while there; I had to restrain myself from constantly checking his network’s Web site to see if there was anything new from him or about him. I can’t even imagine how his wife and mother were feeling; thankfully, the kids are really too young to understand all the ramifications of the situation Daddy was in. (Actually, I saw them all a couple of weeks ago at a family event; his wife, who is about as tough and together as they come, was on the verge of tears on several occasions during the course of my visit.)
Wow. Wow. Wow. I really hope that was the last war assignment he’ll do for a long while, preferably forever. I understand the urge to witness history and all, but that had to be fucking terrifying. Maybe he’ll do something a little more sane, like write a book about it.
Well, if I get to grill him (and I can’t promise that I will, or if I do, when it might be), is there anything y’all want me to ask him about covering the war?
Congratulations and all the best to your cousin and his family and to you.