Iraq smells

The other day when we were out on a mission, Stugotz and I were talking about the fact that there is nothing in this country that smells good. As you drive around the country side you will experience a plethora of horrible odors that you wouldn't even have known existed if you've never left the comfort of the US. Usually the areas containing the worst of these hellish smells is one that is in direct proximity to water. There are canals all over the place here. It's the only way that these people are able to actually grow anything in this God forsaken country. The only problem is that none of the water is actually clean, due to the fact that the Iraqis dump raw sewage, and other horendous hazzardous materials into their own water supply. It's quite disgusting. On more than one occasion we have driven by and seen a shitter critter (porta john truck) emptying it's entire payload into the main water ways. What's even more disturbing is that this seems as if it is somewhat normal. Often times as the shitter critters are doing their dirty deed, there can be groups of teenagers and children swimming in the water not far away. Fucking disgusting....

Canals aren't the only source of the smelly assault on our sense of smell. Dead animals bloated from the decomposing gasses trapped inside, huge piles of rotting, foetid trash, and cesspools of unknown, and sketchy ingredients all abound everywhere you go. I had a nightmare the other night that my sense of smell had become permanently fucked up, and the only thing I could smell for the rest of my life was a mixture of old decaying roadkill, and burning trash fires. It's absolutely horrible. Yesterday at lunch we were talking about a particularly strong smell we had passed by the day before on the mission. I was saying how I thought that it had the really strong stench of sulfur because it smelled like rotten eggs. It was then that the silver fox pointed out that whatever it was it definitely had poop in it.

In my opinion the worst smell we have come into contact with, makes all the rest that I mentioned above smell heavenly. We were outside of a giant factory a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what they manufacture there, but one of the by products that is made there is reminiscent of smashed dog shit. If you didn't know there was a difference between crushed up dog shit, and a regular untouched and undisturbed dog turd let me assure you there is. For some reason undisturbed dog shit has some sort of odor impeding crust on the outside that keeps it from smelling bad unless it's right in your face. Once that crust is broken however, it's like opening Pandora's box. It releases a maelstrom of foul smelling stenches into the air. If you don't believe me, go out and step in some dogshit and test what I have to say. There is a huge difference.

Getting back to the story, the stench outside this factory was absolutely horible. It would have been more pleasant to snort a line of coke off of a dead skunks ass. That's how bad this was. I'm forever going to have the smell of smashed dog shit ingrained in my memory. I wonder if i step in dog shit when I get home if it will trigger some kind of horrible flash back. I wouldn't doubt it. Needless to say at the end of the conversation that i had with stugotz, we agreed that when we got home we are both going to spend several hours in a Bath and Body works smelling pretty things. I'm not sure that it will be enough to forget the demonic litany of smells we have experienced here.

Next time you are driving down the highway and you smell a dead skunk on the side of the road, say a prayer of thanks, that skunks are truly the worst of smells you will ever experience in our country. They pale in comparison to some of the shit over here.