It's official....SSGT Joe Felix, Jr....Blu or Thtsarumr is back from Afghanistan and with his family and friends. He's twenty pounds lighter but has a ready smile and had lots to say when we met with him at his home on board Camp Pendelton in Oceanside for a BBQ with his family last Saturday. It was a great thing to see Blu and meet his family and watch the reunion unfold.
Mike Brown, Chuck Ledut and myself made the journey and MapQuest got all three of us pretty lost on board the base. We finally linked up and made our entrance together. We knew we were at the right place when we saw the banners out front. We met Blu's dad, Joe, Sr. out front and made our way in to find Blu busy with the smoker/BBQ on the back patio. Not only does this guy do his part for his country but when he comes home, he cooks a mean pork rib and steak with his own special, vinegar based BBQ sauce.
So it was like Blu had just left last week. We talked of many things as he set the bbq up and basted the meat. Then he brought out the flies.....my goodness, you should have seen the flies. Mice rats, Moorish mice...streamers....Matukas...caddis...stimis of every variety. The good Dr. Creek was profuse in his admiration and praise for the quality, precise proportions and attention to detail on every fly. They were pretty much perfect. Sadly, he ran out of materials before his tour was up but the mail situation was so bad it would have been difficult to resupply him.
Blu has a wonderful family....that is close, loving and very tight. His wife Jean, mother of his two beautiful and energetic girls (and soon to be 3rd sister), kept the home front running efficiently while Blu was gone. She was obviously thrilled that Blu was home, safe and with his family again. We met his mom and dad and grandparents from Arizona. Seeing their poignant reunion tugged at the heart strings. Being a grandpa myself, I knew how happy they were to hold Blu once again. Blu's brothers and their families were there as well. Blu's dad is a retired Army Sgt and his Mom is an incredible artist who draws photo quality pencil drawings. Lots of kids and babies. I forgot how little babies are.
After a heartfelt blessing, it was time to eat and the food was incredible. All of Blu's favorites (and mine). I was tasked with bringing the sodas and paper plates and promptly forgot the paper plates. Thankfully, Jean had anticipated that and bought some herself. The BBQ and sauce was restaurant quality and melted in your mouth. Dr. Creek had to get back to work at the Fire Department and missed the great chow. We all sat around and talked about pretty much everything....fishing...military...gold mining and the general state of the world. Watching the kids eating at the "kids" table brought back fond memories of when my family was that size and we got together.
We were privileged to be able to share this wonderful day with the Joe Felix, Jr family. I thought of the simple things that Blu did not have available to him over the past year and the things that could have happened or did happen. Can you imagine the culture shock of being in Afghanistan and twenty hours later being able to walk into a supermarket and see the bounty of food and other items so readily available?
Men and women like Blu ship out every day and travel to far away places and live in very primitive and hazardous conditions. Their wives pick up the pieces and hold things together until their husbands return. They sure don't do this for the money or the glory,but they continually put themselves in harm's way for the good of us all.
All three of us felt honored that we were allowed into their home on this wonderful day. We're looking forward to helping Blu rediscover the magic of catching a wild fish in a beautiful place where no bullets will fly. It's gonna be an epic trip in November.
Welcome home, Blu. God Bless You and your family. Thank you for your service!
