Met a soldier today at work.

Picked up a soldier in fatigues while working today. He was given two weeks off, and was heading home to surprise his family.

First comment I heard clearly over the din of the two-way radio and air conditioning was "It's nice to ride in a vehicle without having to worry."

I turned down the AC and the two-way.

Turns out he was deployed in the Sunni Triangle -- the "only" (his words) dangerous place in Iraq. There, he said, the insurgents were making roadside bombs able to destroy fully armoured Humvees. He also told me the rest of Iraq was peaceful and being rebuilt.

I saluted him when he sat in the car, and felt my posture straighten in his presence.

When he left the van he asked me "How much?" "Ten bucks." I replied. As he handed over the money, he said "This has been the best ten bucks I spent."

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Definitely a different view from the mainstream news, or the Right Wing noise. Both the positive (the rebuilding of a nation) and the negative (the roadside bombs). He said more about the bombs, but I feel it wise to hold back the details.

Wish I had asked him who was doing the roadside bombs. I'm curious -- were they mainly Iraqi Sunnis, or foreign desperados trying to earn their 72-virgin welcome into paradise?

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Thing is, I probably should have given him the ride for free and paid the fare myself.