I took a trip to Adana last week and stopped at one of the roadside vendors selling oranges and grapefruits.  I picked up a bag of oranges for 10TL, which is about $3.50.  I will set them in the office and let people take some when they come in.  After paying the man, I told him my mother is very old and wants to see pictures of the crazy Turks here.  He didn’t understand, but he knew I wanted to take his picture, so he obliged, although reluctantly.  For some reason, he was uncomfortable with it, so I figure he must be a wanted man.Every morning when we drive in, our car goes through a quick inspection for anything that shouldn’t be on it.  This takes place at any embassy or consulate in the world.  One of the guards will always ask me, “Nasılsın?” which is “How are you?”  I would answer, “çok iyi.” which means “very good.”  Then he would instruct me to instead say, “Bomba gibi!”  Which means, “Like a bomb!”  The idea is, “I am so full of energy, I am about to explode!” (like a bomb)

So, I took his picture this afternoon, again saying my mother is very old.  I’m not sure he understood, but he tolerated me.And then there is Mahmut!  This little guy is one of the Guard Supervisors.  Several years ago, I was giving a training class on a certain piece of equipment I work on, and Mahmut was the interpreter.  During the class, all the guards started laughing, and he turned to me and said, “I told them you said I was a handsome man.”

So, every since then, when I see him, we will always shake hands and I will tell him how handsome he is.  And he will tell me. “I am the handsomest man in the vorld; no, in the universe! (notice the “V” in vorld).  And he will say, “And you are the second handsomest man in the universe!”

So, this morning I saw him and said, “Mahmut, you are the handsomest man in the vorld; no, in the universe! (notice the “V” in vorld).  And he replied, “And you are the second handsomest man in the universe!”

Then I told him about my 97 year old mother who wants a picture of him, and he stated, “I bet she looks 18!”  I said, “No, she looks 97.”  So, below is a picture of the first and second handsomest men in the vorld.  No, in the universe!Okay.  Enough of that.  Visit again later and in the meantime, Kick Butt.      D.

Talking about the armored vehicles… I forgot to mention an interesting experience with one of those.  Our vehicles have diplomatic license plates to make us look and feel special.  They are either CD plates (Corps Diplomatic) or CM plates (Corps Maintenance).  All the Embassy vehicles have the CD plates, whereas those of us lower in the chain have CM.

So, the armored vehicles are CD plates.  But when these vehicles enter an area where the bad guys are thought to be, they do not want to advertise with the CD plates.  So, the Embassy or Consulate will exchange the plates with a regular automobile license plate to hide the fact it is a diplomatic vehicle.

One of the drivers told me a story about being stopped by the Trafic Policia.  The trooper approached the vehicle and the driver opened the 300 lb door and presented his drivers license and the vehicle’s registration.  The officer walked around to the back side of the vehicle and noticed the license plate did not match.  He radioed in and then told the driver, this license plate says it is a 1987 Lada (cheap Russian car).  The driver says, “Yeah.  We swapped it out.”  Then he reached in the back of the vehicle and handed the officer the original CD plates.

The Officer looked a little stunned, then asked, “Are you allowed to do that?”

The driver said, “Yeah!”

“Well ….  okay then.”  He handed the CD plates back, shook his head, got back in his car and drove off.  That was it.

Gotta love countries like this!      D.

There is a large city in South-East Turkey that I go to every few months.  I went a few weeks ago and because of the bad guys out there, I had to ride in an armored vehicle.  Basically, a Suburban with armored plating in the walls and explosion-proof glass.  I rode in several of these before, the first time in Qarshi Uzbekistan, with a driver who only had one eye.  He drove through the city at a speed that resembles the Turkish drivers I see everyday.

Sitting in it, I tried to roll the glass down to speak to the attendant at a service station, only to realize there is a special motor that sounds like a miniature turbine to roll down the window.  When the glass (referred to as glazing) rolls down, I realize it is an inch thick.  I estimate the doors weigh more than I do, at least 300 lbs.  The engine has a turbo-charger in it, so when it drives up, you hear the whining of the turbine.  Pretty cool vehicle.  Oh yeah, it weighs over four tons. (8000 lbs.)  Most cars weigh 1-2tons.

The city is known for its food.  Perhaps the best place in the world to get baklava.  I had a driver taking me back to Adana and he wanted to stop on the way to get some of the tasty dessert, so I decided to get half a kilo.  While there, I took out my phone and took a few pictures of the store and the proprietors.

Last week I was in Frankfurt Germany for training.  I took Terese with me to enjoy the city and enable her to meet with several of our friends who live there.  We had a amazing view of the Frankfurt skyline from our hotel room.  The first image has a reflection of the inside of our room.

One of our favorite restaurants in Frankfurt is Adolf Wagner.  This were we get the pork shoulder, called the pork knuckle.  Below is the before and after pic of mine.

This was also Saint Patrick’s Day so Terese wore her green scarf.

We went with a couple we met in Moscow years ago, who now live there.  They have a little two year old who is beautiful like her mother, but ornery like her father.

And on top of all that, I found a wonderful smoking bar right next to the hotel we stayed at, so in the evenings, I sat and had drink and cigar.  Made a very nice trip.

Okay.  We will visit more later.  In the meantime, keep kicking butt.   D.

I am convinced we are put on Earth for several reasons. We are given tasks to perform in addition to just getting along with others.  As we age, we gain wisdom and learn to love in ways we never thought possible.

Those who have yet to live life fully, they tend to think that being a mother is a simple task.  Taking care of kids and relaxing throughout the day is an easy life.  How hard can it be?  Look in the eyes of any good mother to see the answer.

I know a woman whose task in Life was to raise nine amazing people and reap the benefits of their love.  She was most successful in that task, to the point she now has more grandkids and great-grandkids than there are Chinese.  Well, that may be a little exaggeration, but there are a lot of them.

Most women would spend the remainder of their days relishing in their produce, but this Dear Lady has not been satisfied with just the creation of nine kids.  Because of an intense love of people and their lives, she chose to study and write about others in their endeavors and successes.

It is through her life I have the gifts I cherish and the love of writing.  It is because of her I am proud to tell others who she is and what she has done.  She is my mother!

Happy Birthday, MotherDear!