Special Congratulations!!!

OBVIOUSLY OVERCOME WITH HAPPINESS!
LCDRs NEPTUNE AND CARR ENJOY THE WEDDING

This is a special entry into the blog. Congratulations are in order for my brother, Ted and his new wife, Dale, who got married on June 22nd. The wedding took place at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. Fortunately, I got to see a web cast of the wedding on the Bellagio's website. Unfortunately, I didn't see it live, but as fate would have it a wounded Marine came in, that needed surgery, about 30 minutes before the wedding. Nonetheless, you could tell by the photo above that some of the crew and I were emotionally overwhelmed by the nuptials. Congrats again Ted and Dale, welcome to the family!!!

Happy Father's Day 2007!

"THE TQ STARTING FIVE"

THE NBA VETS VS THE MARINES
LCDR NEPTUNE AND LT SMITH TOWERING OVER THE VETS


SHAWN BRADLEY HELPS OUT TO FIX THE NETS (He's really not that tall, but almost!)


PATRICK (MILITARY CAR SALES), LCDRs NEPTUNE & EARLY, AND LT CORWIN EAT POPCICLES ON A HOT DAY

LCDR CARR'S METHOD OF WATCHING MOVIES IN THE OFFICER HOOCH



LCDR NEPTUNE
"ENJOYING" HER ANTHRAX VACCINATION

LAYOUT AT THE NEWLY DESIGNED OFFICER'S HOOCH (THE 'O' HOOCH)




GANG AND CHEERLEADERS AT THE VBALL TOURNEY

MARINES AND CORPSMEN HAPPILY WAITING IN LINE FOR ANTHRAX SHOTS





CDR MOORE, LCDR CROSS, AND LT HITCHCOCK SHARING COMPANY IN THE 'TQ HOT TUB'
LCDR NEPTUNE, LCDR CROSS, AND LT HITCHCOCK GETTING A SPLASH DOWN ON A HOT DAY






Happy Father's Day! It's time to spark up the BBQ grill once again. I want to wish my father, Harry F. Taliaferro, M.D., my uncles, and my brothers and cousins a Happy Father's Day. We are trying to salvage our summer here in this arid desert by making the best of it.

We've had some great visitors to come through to see us here at TQ. This week, 3 former NBA vets took time out to spend time with the troops. Shawn Bradley (Philadelphia 76ers/New Jersey Nets/Dallas Mavericks in the '93-'05), Thurl Bailey (Utah Jazz/Minnesota Timberwolves '83-'99)and Greg Minor (Boston Celtics '94-'99). As you can see from the photos they are all pretty tall. Shawn Bradley is 7'6''. He makes the rest of us in the picture look like the "Evolution of Man" poster. They shot some hoops with the Marines, signed autographs and took pictures. They were all great guys. Kenny Anderson was billed to participate, but we heard that he had passport issues. We hear that the New Orleans Saints Cheerleaders will be coming in the future.

Switching from a good thing to a not so good thing, Anthrax vaccinations have taken place for the last month. Unfortunately, it's been made mandatory again for us. These shots in particular burn when given, unlike the one I had back in Groton, CT. Thankfully, I've received my last one here in Iraq.

Patient flow continues to be slow here for the 2nd month in a row. Thankfully, the newly christened 'O' Hooch, thanks to LT Corwin, is up and running. It's a place where officers can go and relax while watching a movie or play a spirited game of poker (and hopefully not lose your combat pay). All in all, we are all 'knocking on wood' in hopes of keeping the violence to a minimum. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger. We're all missing home quite a bit now.

Take care. I'll keep in touch.