Larry

I first read your email last week when in a lock down condition in Baqubah as a result of the Samarra Mosque bombing last Wednesday. I have been in Iraq assessing the condition of our police advisors camps as it relates to their construction and completion. I was at FOB Speicher (Tikrit), then FOB Warhorse (Baqubah), Balad, and now back home in the Baghdad Red Zone. The first part of my deployment I traveled by convoy (hairy) and the last part on choppers with the troops at night--total blackout flying nape of the earth. What an experience it was to basically be "tactical" again and be with soldiers. I did have my eye out for a tall armor lieutenant during my travels. Where is Tom by the way?

I expect to get back to Muscat in a few days. Betty returned there on the 14th after being at home in Carlisle for the last 6 months. I wasn't in Oman upon her arrival, but her sister, Connor, picked her up. Hollis, our oldest, came down from Qatar to keep her company this past weekend. She is working the Asian Games into next year in Doha (the Games are in December of this year).

I'm not sure what the issue is with our class rings, but the dialog reminded me of what mine has gone through. Nothing stays the same and that goes for our rings. I have had 5-6 different stones since graduation. Originally I had the free Alexandrite, then two Black Stars, a Roman coin, and recently a Red Ruby that I just bought and had mounted in the Muscat Souq for $75. In 1968 I sent my ring back to Balfour after my first Black Star did not meet my expectations and the Bangkok jeweler then tore it out and destroyed the mounting. Balfour mounted another Black Star that I obtained in Hong Kong and rehabbed my ring in the process. I believe that they charged me $100. In August Betty and I went to West Point for Leigh's Ring Weekend. We met up with Brice Jones -- he is from your area and his son Monte is also in the Class of 2006. I asked Brice where his ring was (USAFA '61) and he said that it didn't have a stone and he had not worn it for 25 or 30 years. I also sensed that he wished he had it after all the pageantry he was experiencing regarding the class ring. I volunteered to have it fixed and re-stoned when back in Muscat. Subsequently he mailed it to me and when I saw it I was reminded that he was the one who took my ring to Bangkok in 1965 for the mounting of my first Black Star. His ring was similarly disfigured! In December I had the mounting fixed and new Black Star put in for $80. Maybe this rehabbing of class rings could become a growth industry.