Quiet

Do you want to know what the scariest sound is here?  Is it the incoming fire alarm?  Yes, it is loud and its suppose to let you know that a rocket or mortar is on the way, but for the most part you get use to it since it often is a false alarm.  How about the actual explosions themselves?  Well, you hear a lot of booms from VBIEDs and indirect fire and unless you are actually hearing shrapnel pelt your trailer or have debris falling on your head, you tend to just move away from the sound.  What about the police or ambulance sirens that sound like the whistle of incoming fire?  It was hard to distinguish at first but now the seasoned ear can discern the difference.  I'll tell you what the scariest sound is...it's the sound of silence.  That's right.  It's the "wake up from a dead sleep" silence that lets you know that the power is off and your air conditioning unit has ceased spitting out cool air.  That makes for a long, hot night, and even if you manage to get some rest it will be a miserable slumber, regardless of how tired you are.  Plus, the absence of the blower humming in one's trailer makes the helicopters sound especially loud.

Did I mention that I'm a quarter of the way done?  I did?  Good.  Did I sound excited enough about it?  I did?  That's just swell.  I just want to make sure that people don't get the wrong idea and think that I'm not looking forward to the next 9 months to go by faster.