Duck and Cover

Saddam Hussein was fanatical about many things, not the least of which was his own security. In fact, I've heard that his obsession bordered on paranoia. I cannot remember all of the details of these safety precautions he's taken. Suffice it to say that the palaces that house the American Embassy and other U.S. government offices are fairly immune to the "indirect fire" that insurgents fire on the International Zone. The mortar rounds merely chip away at the exterior of the building, and cause a lot of noise.

I typically spend most of my time in one of these palaces, but last night I was drying my hair in the trailer where I live, the walls of which are far less impenetrable than those of Saddam's palace, when I felt the earth move.

Before last night, the rumble of the air conditioner turning over, or the thump of dates falling from palms onto the roof of the trailer got my heart pounding with thoughts of bombs and mortar rounds. Last night something became very clear to me: when there comes a mortar round, there will be no wondering what it is I'm hearing.

I quickly slipped on my shoes, grabbed my Iraqna cellular calling device, and scampered to the "duck-and-cover" bunker (I've taken to calling it a "hunker-bunker" instead...it has a better ring to it) that sits 20 yards from the trailer. As I arrived breathless in the bunker, the sirens began, telling all to take cover. The streets that are usually full of people at this hour, were completely deserted. Everyone was in a bunker, but somehow I managed to be all alone in mine, not really sure how many more rounds would be fired or when it would be safe to leave. (The positive aspect of my aloneness is that I was spared the embarassment of being scantily clad in my night-clothes in front of other hunkerers).

I made a quick phone call to my "security detail" to let him know I was not in the palace where he last saw me, but that I was OK. Out of breath from running downstairs to the Green Bean coffee shop only to find that I was not there, he told me to wait in the "hunker-bunker" until the all clear call. I sat there praying that it was over for about 10 minutes, and then came the clear call. I calmly walked back to the trailer and put on proper clothing before I called my security detail and let him know I would be spending the rest of the evening in the heavily fortified palace.