iTunes, Tenacious D and Port-a-Lets...

So every now and again we need to take a break from all the seriousness and have a moment of utter absurdity- here we go…

Let’s start with this the top five most played songs on my iTunes:

1. Karate- Tenacious D
2. American Baby- Dave Matthews Band
3. Ants Marching- DMB
4. A Little Less Conversation (JXL Remix)- Elvis Presley
5. When We Ride- 2Pac

What is this? I come to Iraq and Sinatra, Buffett and any form of country music leave my top 5. Not just that they left the top 25 altogether- below is a list of artists in the top 25 and how many songs they have there.

1. Tenacious D- 9
2. 2Pac- 5
3. DMB- 4
4. Elvis-1
5. John Mayer- 1
6. Flogging Molly- 1
7. Great White- 1
8. Jimi Hendrix-1
9. Naughty by Nature- 1
10. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony- 1

I am confused by this- my top 25 didn’t look like this before I got here- oh well.

Are you down with the D? Tenacious D that is, I am very thankful to Roadshow 7 and Red 4 for introducing me to the D- it has been a life altering ride. The combination of comedic relief and actual musical ability is quite refreshing. I give you this picture of the D, which is not the best picture of them but it helps lead into this next bit of temporary insanity.

The Port-a-Let…

As you can see in the above picture Jack and KG are coming out of one. Now the Port-a-Let is unlike anything else in this world and did play a role in my life until I got to Kuwait. Now we all have memories of county fairs and having to stand in line for the Port-a-Let. We all remember from those experiences how disgusting they can be, through all of that I never felt the urge to throw up in one until I got to Kuwait. What you have there that makes the Port-a-Let so unique is a transient population that actually lives there for a few weeks. So you have a bunch of people who don’t care how disgusting the place gets, because they are leaving, however they are staying there long enough to actually leave quite a bit of filth around. Also when you arrive in the Middle East you learn something about the Port-a-Let, they don’t have minty blue water that they clean it with, they just have regular water- so instantly it isn’t as clean as you would expect. In all seriousness in the states a freshly cleaned Port-a-Let can be a thing of beauty. I remember how excited I was to arrive here and learn that we have real toilets, oh the simple joys. Then my simple joy was shattered to learn that our commander is OK with civilian clothes if you are in the building but once you go outside you need to be in military gear. Here is where I should probably tell you that the bathroom is outside, hence the issue. Now the Port-a-Lets that we have our located on the backside of the mausoleum, where the CO doesn’t go- so now at night I use them exclusively since I am usually in PJ pants and ball cap. One thing that I miss from the Port-a-Lets that I have seen in my travels is the graffiti- when people have to live with a Port-a-Let they don’t write in it, unlike when you are in a transient Port-a-Let. When we were in Kuwait we even had a bit of an issue over things that were written in the Port-a-Let; people don’t always like hearing what others have to say about them- when no one will find out who said it.

I will leave you with one funny Port-a-Let story and then I need to get ready for a mission. By the by stop readying here if you are under the impression that I don’t drink, don’t get drunk and never have too much fun. I will even end the post for you so you feel complete.

Peace and Love- Roadshow 6





Alright if you have come this far why not go a little farther?




My funny Port-a-Let story…

So here I am in Marion at the Mississinewa 1812 event, I venture down to the river pirate camp. ***side note: any story that for real involves pirates could always be bad*** We have quite a night of drinking and singing and all around debauchery. The problem isn’t the amount of alcohol (maybe partially), but rather the different varieties that are all consumed. I mean everyone brings a bottle and just kind of passes it around, until they are all gone. So we do this, I at some point need to relieve myself and instead of just going in the wood line I venture down to the Port-a-Lets. I have learned that I like to walk when I drink; it increases the chances of meeting new people. I walk right into the handicap version, because it is bigger and eventually this is what bites me in the arse. Remember that I am wearing early 19th century clothing and the shoes of the period don’t have much traction. I am so, tired (read: drunk) that I do not have the ability to stand up on the slick Port-a-Let floor in those shoes. So I am on my hands and knees attempting to get up and get out of there, because by this point I realize that no good is going to come of this. It seemed like it took at an hour for me to get up and get out of there, when I finally did I relieved myself on the Port-a-Let from the outside and got on with my night. ***side note #2: I am not always this vulgar, this was simply funny in all honesty when I look back on it*** So I made my way back to the party had a few more drinks then time traveled into what I thought was my bedroll. It turned out to be a pile of deer hair that had been removed from the hide earlier that day; I didn’t know this until a very helpful friend woke me up and moved me into my blankets.

So there was my Port-a-Let story I hope that you enjoyed it as much reading it as I did reliving it in my head as I typed it. Here is where I end the madness and get around to playing war for the rest of the day. Be safe my friends.

Peace and Love- Roadshow 6