Iraq!

"alex found out he's going to be deployed to iraq when he's done with training- around august. his unit is actually deploying in june, but he won't be done with training yet, so he'll join them when he is. they told him what his job will be, too- something about maintainence and supply, or something. so it should keep him at the base. he said it was a pretty office-y job. i knew this was coming sooner or later, so it's really not that big of a deal right now." - Laura

Just to let you know....This was an e-mail from Laura, and I don't mean to trivialize the idea of Alex or any soldier heading to Iraq, so I apologize for my attempt to be clever in the use of my heading (my previous posting gave me the idea, and maybe not such a good one, but I will leave it). This blog has been devoted to everyone's running/fitness experiences, but so much easier to inform all the family without worrying if I left someone out or have the wrong e-mail address. I don't think Laura would mind if I shared her e-mail. Right now Alex is at Aberdeen Proving Ground near Baltimore. This is a temporary assignment and he hasn't had much to do there yet. He will head back to Fort Benning, Georgia for more training in several weeks, then back to Aberdeen after that (April, I believe). Then he was to report to Fort Polk, Louisiana in August, but since his unit is being deployed, that obviously has changed.

Also FYI: Today is Jim's moving day - All of his "possessions" have been in storage (except his car, which he got about a week after arriving in St. Louis, but presently having work done on it in Louisville), so the movers were to show up this morning and "do their thing". Jim's apartment building is about 2 blocks from Forest Park (which includes the wonderful free St. Louis Zoo and is larger than Central Park in New York). He is midway between St. Louis University (SLU) and Washington University, and not too far from downtown! His cousin, Tom, is just starting a one-year intensive nursing program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which is also only about 2 blocks away. (Small world!) His new address: 4910 West Pine Boulevard Apt 210, St. Louis, MO 63108.

I warned you guys about my rambling......