Building up my Karma

Sorry folks, no pictures tonight, just a story. This one starts back in around 1989, mid summer. They say that you have to give back what you get. The concept of paying it forward from the movie was nice, but generally speaking we are only so thoughtful of others when it doesn't interfere with our own lives too much. That is when you have to reassess things and strive to go the extra mile.
This particular summer, I was returning from a summer cruise. Actually, I was leaving one cruise at the Naval Academy, and transitioning to another...or so I had thought. Two weeks underway on the USS Groton, two weeks in La Maddelena, Italy. My next stop was supposed to be Kiel, West Germany, but the XO told me it wasn't in my orders, so he had planned to send me back and that the Academy would send me to my next stop.....more likely, he didn't want to spend the travel $$$.
The reservations made by the boat, only got us as far as Rota, Spain where we were laid over for four days (Brad, feel free to insert a comment about dancing with a tranny here!) We caught a C-130 back to Norfolk (only 18 hours!!!) and rented a car from there to Annapolis. We crashed at my sponsors at 2:00 am, unannounced, tired, but somewhat happy to be back. Over the next day or so, I found out that I wasn't going to West Germany, that I was going on a YP cruise in a month, and that I was on leave from that point until a month later. The plan at this time was to get a hop on a plane to Wright Patterson AFB and get home as soon as possible.
By the time I got to Andrews, it was around 3:00pm, and after checking in (wearing a really sweaty dirty set of whites!) I find out that the last plane has departed. Ever resourceful, I manage to book a reservation out of BWI for 6:00pm.....unfortunately for me, BWI is about 35 miles away, and it is moments before the DC rush hour. So I cruise out of the building and see an Air Force Officer walking to his car. On the chance that I can chat him up, I run over, only to find myself saluting a full Air Force Colonel. Screwing up my courage, I explain the situation. Thankfully, after a short phone call to his wife to hold dinner as he was going to have to travel 35 miles in the wrong direction on the beltway......he drove me to the airport.
So why is this story in my Iraq blog? Turns out seventeen years later (gawd has it been that long?) I find myself driving back to the office at 10:00pm at night, only to be flagged down near the helipad next to my building. Five army personnel ranging from Major to Sgt are suited up in Kevlar and flak jackets. Seems that they had been waiting at the bus stop for 30 minutes. Their helo flight had been cancelled, and they were due out to the Airport at midnight for the once a night liberty flight back to Kuwait, so they could go home for their mid-tour two week R&R. They only wanted a hitch to the PX, where they thought they could catch the bus.......
So what about the paperwork, stress, and other crap I had to do? It was a nice night, and a 35 minute drive around Baghdad Airport with five poor souls just looking to get home turned out to be a hell of a lot more rewarding. They say payback is a bitch, but sometimes it can really be rewarding, especially if you are returning favors given to you for no good reason.