Doing what I can,

Being back in Denver was a bit of a surprise. I had forgotten how beautiful our house is. No, it's not perfect, hell, it's not even decorated, but after the dreary old lake house and the somewhat "roughing it" appeal of the cabin, the Colorado house is down right "pretty" to walk into.

I managed to unload the truck. At some point soreness becomes relative and you just gut it out.

I set up a Saturday breakfast with my three best friends - it ended up lasting 7 hours.  I'm pretty proud of that really.

Flew Asiana Airlines to China. Especially nice because the flight left SFO in the middle of the day. The flight was good, service was great, and the food - believe it or not - was excellent.

Got into a conversation in the Incheon Airport with an old Spetsnaz guy and his wife.  They picked me out because of my fresh haircut.  I had worked with Spetsnaz when I was in the Corps, and he had worked with some of us in his day.

Mostly we we trying to translate stuff on our phones, but "Brother Marine" and offering me a drink from his duty free whiskey said it all. They were kinder and more respectful than any American has ever been to me. Seeing the way his wife beamed when they talked about his service was really something.  It means nothing to no one here. They put a value on service that Americans couldn't comprehend.

Made it to China, ate a pile of fried noodles from a street vendor (at 2am), and slept straight through the next day.

I settled in to a routine while Sherri's father was in the hospital. I'd get up and drink some instant coffee, eat some toast with butter, and set to cleaning house. If I didn't clean, then Sherri's mom would do it - and she was running herself ragged trying to take care of dad. So I decided it was important to get that done.

In the early afternoon I'd take the bus to the hospital with Sherri. In China they don't feed the patients in the hospital - so family has to bring it. If nothing else, you're assured that your family won't forget about you.

So we'd deliver lunch and visit while Sherri's mom ran down and got some lunch at the cafeteria. Then I'd travel back to the house with Sherri's mom. They started calling me BaBiao "guard". I liked that.

Sherri's dad was doing well, and a couple days after getting out of the hospital we all moved out to Sherri's brother's house in Dong Chong.