You gotta be crazy...
Iraqi frontline update
For those of you who don't know about these Iraqi updates, I have a friend whose brother is serving in the US army in Iraq. He sends these reports back from the frontline about what it's like to be out there. As I have stated before I object totally to the invasion of Iraq but do not print these articles to prove a point either way. I add these articles to my blog so that people can get an real life view of what life in Iraq is like for a soldier, without the media editing and bias that inevitably comes with all reporting. Needless to say this article inidicates what an impossible position all the troops out in Iraq face.
Read on.....
"....Sometimes it is tough to figure out what to say every week here. The problem is that sometimes nothing happens here then other times I do not even have time to sit down at my desk. This week has been a mix of that. For any of you at home you already know another soldier was killed this week. He was responding to secure the helicopter crash site (in the news) early in the week when his vehicle hit an IED. He was killed instantly and the other soldiers in his crew were hardly even shaken up. Mentally that has been tough for them, he was their leader.
Most Iraqi people do not want the insurgency around, but those same people do not want us around. Iraqis rarely get blown up by IEDs. They know where the bombs are and the trigger men do not target Iraqis. Many in the US think IEDs are like mines, we roll over them and they blow up. Most of them are triggered by someone using a phone, a garage door opener, doorbells, or hand held radios (motorolas).
Local Iraqis, including the Sheiks who get contracts to build things (paid in US dollars), know where the bombs are but do not tell us that info. They say they will be killed if they talk but really they just don't care if we get blown up. One sign on patrol that tells us we are about to be attacked is that the streets will empty and shops will be closed. The people know we are being targeted but don't feel they need to tell us by who or what. Soldiers are then supposed to remain professional when they ask the shopkeeper about the attack. He says "no ali baba, no muj, I know nothing" but he closed his store, he knew something.
If the Iraqi people do not care about the soldiers why should the soldiers care? That is where this war is heading for the US and I do not want to see US soldiers end up there. The leaders try to keep things professional and so far they are succeeding in our unit. Soldiers who break the rules are quickly punished or in some cases arrested but soldiers become bitter when their friend is dead and the shopkeeper whose shop is right next to the crater says he knows nothing.
The politics at home bother me, the media and their version of truth bothers me, but what bothers me most is watching men lose some of their humanity for a cause that even George Bush does not truly want to commit to...."
Read on.....
"....Sometimes it is tough to figure out what to say every week here. The problem is that sometimes nothing happens here then other times I do not even have time to sit down at my desk. This week has been a mix of that. For any of you at home you already know another soldier was killed this week. He was responding to secure the helicopter crash site (in the news) early in the week when his vehicle hit an IED. He was killed instantly and the other soldiers in his crew were hardly even shaken up. Mentally that has been tough for them, he was their leader.
Most Iraqi people do not want the insurgency around, but those same people do not want us around. Iraqis rarely get blown up by IEDs. They know where the bombs are and the trigger men do not target Iraqis. Many in the US think IEDs are like mines, we roll over them and they blow up. Most of them are triggered by someone using a phone, a garage door opener, doorbells, or hand held radios (motorolas).
Local Iraqis, including the Sheiks who get contracts to build things (paid in US dollars), know where the bombs are but do not tell us that info. They say they will be killed if they talk but really they just don't care if we get blown up. One sign on patrol that tells us we are about to be attacked is that the streets will empty and shops will be closed. The people know we are being targeted but don't feel they need to tell us by who or what. Soldiers are then supposed to remain professional when they ask the shopkeeper about the attack. He says "no ali baba, no muj, I know nothing" but he closed his store, he knew something.
If the Iraqi people do not care about the soldiers why should the soldiers care? That is where this war is heading for the US and I do not want to see US soldiers end up there. The leaders try to keep things professional and so far they are succeeding in our unit. Soldiers who break the rules are quickly punished or in some cases arrested but soldiers become bitter when their friend is dead and the shopkeeper whose shop is right next to the crater says he knows nothing.
The politics at home bother me, the media and their version of truth bothers me, but what bothers me most is watching men lose some of their humanity for a cause that even George Bush does not truly want to commit to...."
Belize Adventure, Adventure, Adventure
What to do and see in Belize. We have just been to Ambergris Caye, Belize for a few days break. This is one of the Tropical Islands off the mainland of Belize. And one of the nightime activities is to feed the Crocodiles in the Lagoon side of the Island. And here is a picture of one of the locals providing some tucker for a hungry croc, something that even Steve Irwin the Crocodile hunter would be proud of.And while I was chatting to one of the locals from Ambergris Caye, they told me the story of one guy who was hand feeding a smaller croc and lost his finger!!! We certainly don't subject our guests to any risks like this, but the local people just do it for fun.
This reminds me of the time at the Belize Jungle Dome when we had just finished the swimming pool. The kids who live on the other side of the soccer field were dragging a 14' Crocodile along the outside of our fence. They had ropes aroud each leg and its snout with 2 kids on each rope. The boys were between 5 and 13 years of age and all came from the same family. When I stopped them to ask what they were doing they told me they were going to put it in our Swimming Pool.
Jungle Dome Web Project - Part 4
We are getting closer to the final template design for the Jungle Dome. This page shows our "monkey eyes" banner across the top. Each page will have a different 600 X 100 banner running across the top of the page. we have some stunning pictures from Belize and with some editing can create these banners.
Click here to view our Belize Banner Slideshows
The Mayan Symbols will run horizontally across the top of the page, giving the site an ancient appeal. We are trying to find correct Mayan symbols that represent the pages they are hyperlinked to. Under the Images will be the text links. These text links are carefully selected to represent common search terms for Belize Vacations/Holidays.
The main content of the page is going to be edited down from our other site http://www.greendragonbelize.com so that viewers will not have to scroll down the pages to see everything.
There will be one smaller image on each page running a javascript slideshow of 15/20 images relevant to each particular page, so that while you are reading the information viewers can see the images as well.
Still to be added is the Belize Jungle Dome Blog Headline Animator that looks like this ::
The text titles of each page will also reflect the common search terms used for people looking for an adventure holiday in belize.
Hopefully by the end of this week this template will be completed and we can start adding all the content.
Part 1 of the Jungle Dome Web Project
Part 2 of the Jungle Dome Web Project
Part 3 of the Jungle Dome Web Project
Richie has also completed the Logo for the side of our vehicles.
What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
When I was at Charlton Athletic in the 2000/2001 season I was struck down with a very mysterious illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or M.E or what was commonly named yuppie flu.
All my life I have been a very fit and sports crazy athlete enjoying all kinds of sport and recreations such as Football, Cricket, Squash, Scuba Diving, Running, Pool and loads more activities. Becoming a Professional Footballer was the perfect outlet for my endless bags of energy.
Then all of a sudden in 2000 after a home game against Tottenham I felt like I was carrying heavy weights around the pitch for the whole 90 minutes. Not knowing what was wrong I assumed that I had a flu coming on and so the following week I did very little in training hoping to recover for the next game. I never wanted to miss matches and as I had been Charlton’s top scorer and the Division 1 Top scorer in the previous season I was keen to play in the next game. My start to the premiership season had given me 4 goals in 8 games including 2 goals against the almost complete England back four that were playing for Arsenal.
Needless to say I was confident and looking forward to the season. I played the following week against Newcastle and we beat them 1-0 at St James Park but I was so fatigued, I slept the entire journey home. And spent almost the whole of the next week laid up in bed. I then played my final professional game against Coventry City at home scoring with my last touch of the ball before Curbs had me removed from play. I couldn't move on the pitch.
The club sent me for tests, which revealed nothing abnormal. I then went to see the leading UK expert on the subject who gave me a graded recovery program, which involved a slow but steady increase in activity. I almost reached the fitness level required to return to full time playing but relapsed one more time. This is when I made the extremely difficult decision to quit Football at the early age of 30 years old, at the peak of my career. With new contract talks just begun at Charlton and a year to go on my contract it was financially a bit of a disaster for me. I had also been approached by Austria about playing international football for them but had to turn it down. But I was so depressed with the whole situation and physically I was a wreak.
I remember having to pull over on the side of the road after one training session because my vision had become blurred and I couldn't see the road in front of me. Sat on the A2 between the Charlton training ground and my home in Greenwich I finally decided to quit and walk out on my contract.
I sat in the dressing room at the Training ground after my 1 lap of the football fields, on my own, looking out the window at the rest of the team going through their paces. I couldn't really believe that what I was about to do would end my football career. However for my own health I felt that I had to make this decision. It's never easy going to see the boss in any job and often when you are visiting the football team manager it is with a sense of trepidation. Normally you are summoned to the bosses office to be told you are dropped for the next game (although fortunately for me I was rarely dropped from the starting line up). But this time I was dropping Charlton and my career as a Professional Footballer.
I knocked on Curbs office and proceeded to tell him that I wanted to quit. I dreaded every day going to the training ground to pound out my 1 lap of the field only to go home and collapse in bed for the rest of the day. So that was it. At the peak of my career and about to realize my dreams as a football player I quit due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Charlton were very sympathetic to my situation and I'm sure they understood that I was happier quitting football rather than continuing what seemed to be a fruitless task of recovering from my illness. Professional Football is hard enough when you are fit and healthy so trying to play with CFS was impossible.
Still up until today I cannot put my finger on what causes this illness. 2 days ago I had a medical. My blood pressure is fine; my heart rate is great, oxygen levels great. Lungs fine. I even thought that I had Diabetes, as my father and his father both suffered with this illness. But my blood sugar levels have never showed this as the culprit. Even though many of the symptoms such as Dizziness, blurred vision, and extreme fatigue are all shared by Chronic Fatigue and Diabetes, I don't seem to have Blood Sugar level problems.
It is a very frustrating illness and one that has taken me several years to learn to live with. When I was a professional athlete I was used to pushing my body to its limit of physical endurance day after day in training. And I loved doing it. Now I cannot even come close to pushing myself to exhaustion because I would be laid up in bed for days even weeks. So I am very happy to have changed careers and to be living the Tropical Lifestyle, where I am able to spend a lot of quality time with my family and enjoy my work in Belize without having to suffer the consequences of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on a daily basis.
Go to the start of My Blog
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Resources
Action for M.E
M.E Association
BBC Article
CFIDS
All my life I have been a very fit and sports crazy athlete enjoying all kinds of sport and recreations such as Football, Cricket, Squash, Scuba Diving, Running, Pool and loads more activities. Becoming a Professional Footballer was the perfect outlet for my endless bags of energy.
Then all of a sudden in 2000 after a home game against Tottenham I felt like I was carrying heavy weights around the pitch for the whole 90 minutes. Not knowing what was wrong I assumed that I had a flu coming on and so the following week I did very little in training hoping to recover for the next game. I never wanted to miss matches and as I had been Charlton’s top scorer and the Division 1 Top scorer in the previous season I was keen to play in the next game. My start to the premiership season had given me 4 goals in 8 games including 2 goals against the almost complete England back four that were playing for Arsenal.
Needless to say I was confident and looking forward to the season. I played the following week against Newcastle and we beat them 1-0 at St James Park but I was so fatigued, I slept the entire journey home. And spent almost the whole of the next week laid up in bed. I then played my final professional game against Coventry City at home scoring with my last touch of the ball before Curbs had me removed from play. I couldn't move on the pitch.
The club sent me for tests, which revealed nothing abnormal. I then went to see the leading UK expert on the subject who gave me a graded recovery program, which involved a slow but steady increase in activity. I almost reached the fitness level required to return to full time playing but relapsed one more time. This is when I made the extremely difficult decision to quit Football at the early age of 30 years old, at the peak of my career. With new contract talks just begun at Charlton and a year to go on my contract it was financially a bit of a disaster for me. I had also been approached by Austria about playing international football for them but had to turn it down. But I was so depressed with the whole situation and physically I was a wreak.
I remember having to pull over on the side of the road after one training session because my vision had become blurred and I couldn't see the road in front of me. Sat on the A2 between the Charlton training ground and my home in Greenwich I finally decided to quit and walk out on my contract.
I sat in the dressing room at the Training ground after my 1 lap of the football fields, on my own, looking out the window at the rest of the team going through their paces. I couldn't really believe that what I was about to do would end my football career. However for my own health I felt that I had to make this decision. It's never easy going to see the boss in any job and often when you are visiting the football team manager it is with a sense of trepidation. Normally you are summoned to the bosses office to be told you are dropped for the next game (although fortunately for me I was rarely dropped from the starting line up). But this time I was dropping Charlton and my career as a Professional Footballer.
I knocked on Curbs office and proceeded to tell him that I wanted to quit. I dreaded every day going to the training ground to pound out my 1 lap of the field only to go home and collapse in bed for the rest of the day. So that was it. At the peak of my career and about to realize my dreams as a football player I quit due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Charlton were very sympathetic to my situation and I'm sure they understood that I was happier quitting football rather than continuing what seemed to be a fruitless task of recovering from my illness. Professional Football is hard enough when you are fit and healthy so trying to play with CFS was impossible.
Still up until today I cannot put my finger on what causes this illness. 2 days ago I had a medical. My blood pressure is fine; my heart rate is great, oxygen levels great. Lungs fine. I even thought that I had Diabetes, as my father and his father both suffered with this illness. But my blood sugar levels have never showed this as the culprit. Even though many of the symptoms such as Dizziness, blurred vision, and extreme fatigue are all shared by Chronic Fatigue and Diabetes, I don't seem to have Blood Sugar level problems.
It is a very frustrating illness and one that has taken me several years to learn to live with. When I was a professional athlete I was used to pushing my body to its limit of physical endurance day after day in training. And I loved doing it. Now I cannot even come close to pushing myself to exhaustion because I would be laid up in bed for days even weeks. So I am very happy to have changed careers and to be living the Tropical Lifestyle, where I am able to spend a lot of quality time with my family and enjoy my work in Belize without having to suffer the consequences of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on a daily basis.Go to the start of My Blog
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Resources
Action for M.E
M.E Association
BBC Article
CFIDS
Happy Birthday to My son Lucas - 3 Today
Lucas is 3 today and we have taken him to Ambergris Caye the Tropical Islands of Belize, for his Birthday. We have taken his buddy Jimmy with us and are staying on the beach at Banana Beach Resort. Yesterday they spent the afternoon kicking around in the sand and climbing coconut trees. Last night we were whizzing around on Golf Buggies with Lucas driving.Here we are about to take off from the Belize Municipal Airstrip on an Island Hopper.
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