A long way from Kansas

I've been in a lot of different places where I would never have expected to run into someone that I knew from back home, Iraq was definitely at the top of that list. 

When I first arrived in Iraq at the beginning of my first deployment, as we had unloaded off the Chinook, I heard someone yell 'hey, Mindy'.  I was a little taken aback, since I was now used to being called by my last name.  When I turned around, a friend of mine that I had gone to high school with was standing there. 

During the beginning of my second deployment was when I ran into a friend that I had a little more long term history with.  We had completed our first leg of the flight and we found ourselves weathered in at our first fuel stop in southern Iraq.  Knowing that this was the same FOB a good friend of mine was on, I tried to touch base with someone from her unit.  I finally tracked someone who knew her and I was informed she was out on a convoy and wouldn't be back until at least the next day. 

The next morning, a weather call was made and we were stuck for another day.  Although that meant another lost day for us, I was able to track down my friend and we were able to sit down and eat together and catch up on things.

We have come a long way since we were those two little girls standing on her grandpa's porch before the first day of first grade.  But like we have for so many years, we have another shared experience that we have someone else to lean on if we need it.