This morning I woke up, made coffee, (Rwandan, of course) checked my email and Blackberry, then I went to Iraq. Now before my father and children start calling let me explain. A good friend of mine Karen Pavlicin, is the keynote speaker at an upcoming event and she is in the middle of putting together a presentation. She asked to use some of my photos. So this morning I went back to Iraq. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I first flew into Baghdad. At that time I went in to support a project my friend Malcolm Nance was working on. Now it's no secret I will go anywhere in the world for Malc. And I know he always has my back where ever in the world I am too. Malc and I have been through a lot together to say the least. And Malcolm has given me a priceless gift.
The gift of knowledge and skills to stay alive in hostile situations. I've taken these gifts around the world many times now. They are ingrained, they are part of who I am now. They give me confidence, and allow me to take control of my own security. So, as I spend my morning sipping coffee with a fire in the fireplace, looking at photo after photo,
my thoughts drift back to Baghdad and our house in Mansour. Our death defying trips into the Green Zone, through the gauntlet of blast walls at Assassin Gate, a drive down Route Irish to the airport, or our road trip to Erbil in Kurdistan. So this morning as I revisit Iraq, I pause and give thanks to Malcolm and all the others who successfully kept me alive. Those who everyday told me they would die for me
and meant it. -Peace to all, love and blessings to my friends in Iraq-Linda
