So I thought I was headed to the Moon ...

but it was only a typical take-off from the Baghdad International Airport, followed by a cork-screw maneuver designed to foil the attack of anti-aircraft missiles from lurking Resistance. Fortunately, I survived both the take-off and the threat of missile attack and made it to Jordan (though I still got a little motion sickness ... it was a rocky landing in Amman).

I'll spend a few days here relaxing, catching up on some writing and connecting with a friend. Tonight, Nathan (my friend who traveled into and out of Iraq with me) and I went to the Mecca Mall to go see Spiderman 2 (not my first choice but we missed the showing of Harry Potter). Haven't seen a movie in five months ... the movie theatre's in Iraq are a bit sketchy ... the kind of place that Iraqi men go to with their "girl friends" to watch lite porn movies (i.e. everything is shown from the neck up ... the rest is up to the imagination).

Quite a Mall, that Mecca Mall ... even had a Mrs. Field's Cookies and of course good ol' Burger King. With all the kids hanging out there it looked like a typical mall in the states.

Anyway, after a few days here ... I'll head for Israel/Palestine and a two month stint with the Christian Peacemaker Team.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

Here is a nice quote I came upon today ...

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure ... life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller