Hockey Night in Baghdad

The other day I joked with my boss that what the embassy complex was lacking was an ice rink. "Gotta get my hockey fix," I said.

He reminded me about the 4-on-4 street hockey that took place by the gym. And, indeed, street hockey was one of the sports activities organized by the MWR folks. Every other Friday evening at dusk, the hoopsters are ushered off the court, to be replaced by a bunch of rangy guys with plastic sticks and a rubber ball.

I had so much fun playing last night, and didn't realize when it was all over that I had had almost an hour and a half of exercise that was a heckuva lot more than going running (with or without my boss). Most of the guys were enlisted soldiers, with a few civilians thrown in. As the night went on, we felt a growing camraderie, and it's unfortunate that by the time the next hockey night rolls around, I'll be on a plane going home.