Iraq-Part III

The Renegades have to stop again along the road because they have a downed PCN vehicle. I am not sure what that is, but the trailer got hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and since they couldn't salvage the trailer or the cargo (MREs mostly), they decided to burn it using an incendiary grenade. But in the process, they started a fuel leak. So they end up with two separate fires, one buring the trailer, one burning the cargo. The smoke cloud, as my brother's buddy points out, "does great things to the atmosphere."

As they approach the burning vehicle, the one lane road is so full of potholes that the camera is jumping all over. It appears to be literally in the middle of nowhere, so you ask yourself why or how an IED gets planted in such a desolate place. The message crackels through the radio that they are going to have to bypass the accident site. The smoke is too thick to pass through. This will require a little "off road" work.

There is something oddly beautiful about the scene.
You hear all the time about desert sunsets. I've never seen one.
My brother was wrong. There are three fires burning this evening.




Just as you notice the sunset, they pass by the burning vehicle. But they, much like you, find it uninteresting and mundane. We never leave our humanity too far behind us, regardless of the situation.





In a strange juxtaposition to the reality of their job, they, much like you, are too busy looking at the stunning sunset to care about the burning trailer.





Says one, "It's a beautiful sunset."
"It sure is," says the other.
"It almost makes you want to stop."
"It sure does," comes the response.
"I'm sure the camera doesn't do it justice."
"No. It sure doesn't."

Part IV to follow.