Hot Wife and I have starkly dissimilar tastes in music. She once borrowed my iPod to go running and came back railing on me for not warning her about “that Rage Against The Machine shit.” Conversely, if I have to hear that “the rest is still unwritten” song even once more, I’m going out to the garage, finding the biggest flat-head screwdriver I own and shoving it into my right ear until comes out my left.

That being said, there are a few songs we both like, one of which is by the Dave Mathews Band and contains the following line: “Would you not like to be sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free?”

That’s how I feel about this blog.

Somehow this little nothing website that I stared a couple of years ago because I wasn’t writing enough has grown into a worldwide community of people who lift me up when I’m down, who shower me with enough positive feedback to kill a small farm animal, who have both directly and indirectly made it possible to think about celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary in terms of shiny jewels and romantic getaways instead of a bucket of chicken and some cotton-candy-flavored lube.

Obviously, there is more love out there than one person can handle. That’s why I have decided to redirect a little of it, with your permission.

A couple of days ago, someone named Mike left a comment here. It included this:

“You certainly know how to keep life light, people laughing and ease stress in everyday life. I'm currently a month in to a six-month tour in Iraq and I share your posts with friends and it brightens our day. For what it's worth, the best I can say is... thanks.”

Reading that elicited in me a strong visceral reaction. I write this site in my own head without giving much thought to where it goes or what it does when I hit “enter” (as evidenced by the post that motivated Mike to de-lurk). But the realization that the nonsense I spew here found Mike and his buddies in Iraq and made him want to thank ME (can you even comprehend the backwardness of that?!) changed things for me. That’s as simply as I can put it. Here I sit in conditioned air, eating dinner with my kids every night, kissing my wife every morning, living the American Dream while Mike is risking his life, thousands of miles from home, communicating with his wife via e-mail. And he’s thanking ME?! Not kosher. Not something I can just let stand. Not when I’m an American. Not when I’m a father. Not when I’m a human being.

So I’ve adopted him. Actually, WE have.

Mike, his family and his unit are hereby installed as the official “cause” of Dad Gone Mad and the collective lovebomb known as its readers. He is a father (see: Dad). He is away from his home (see: Gone). And he is fighting a war (if there is a better definition of “madness” than that, I don’t want to know about it). A real, live dad gone mad.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MIKE
• He lives in Illinois.
• He is married to a woman whose name, appropriately enough, is Angel.
• He has a seven-month-old daughter.
• He is stationed in Basrah, which is in Southeastern Iraq, near its borders with Kuwait and Iran.
• Though he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, Mike is filling an Army slot on a British base. He works with no other Americans.
• He is an officer.
• Mike has a friend and fellow enlistee who will soon deploy to Iraq. Her job will be to journey outside the safe zone to inspect exploded IEDs, which is exceptionally dangerous work because of the risk of secondary explosions. She is single. If she agrees to it, we will be adopting her, too.

WHAT WE CAN DO FOR HIM?
• I will be setting up a dedicated page on this site where Mike can write to us and we, in turn, can write comments to him and Angel and their baby girl and Mike’s unit. I’m also efforting to collect pictures.
• Wondersis has volunteered to be the hub for our care package activities and is setting-up a post office box. If you wish to participate, you can send your baked goods and Crystal Light packets and naughty magazines (and by “naughty” I obviously mean Sports Illustrated) to this address, and Wondersis will package them up and send the DGM Lovebomb(s) off to Iraq and Illinois, respectively. (NOTE: there are certain things that can and cannot be sent, per the U.S. military, and I will post that information when the p.o. box is established. I’ll also collect a wishlist from Angel, but one assumes you can never go wrong with giftcards.)
• We can keep any talk of disagreement with the war and/or the governments involved out of this domain. This song is not a rebel song.

HOW DO WE GET STARTED?
I’d like to have a modified de-lurking day. We know Mike and Angel read the site, so while Wondersis and I arrange the details, leave a comment for them.

Comments

Mike and Angel (and baby!)- I hope that you all get to be together soon, safe and sound.

Danny- nicely done.

danny, this is - by far - the best make-up retribution you could do. "when God closes a door, He opens a window." i am very much looking forward to seeing inside the window to mike's world, to offering hope to his buddies and him, to changing things, just a little. this is good.

Mike, Angel & Baby,
Thank you so much for all the sacrifices you have made in service to your country. I will be praying for all of you.

Danny, thank you for shining your spotlight on a great "cause" such as Mike and his family. I delivered twin girls 4 months into my husband's 12 month deployment to Iraq. I believe I sent him a few DGM snippets during his time in Baghdad. I think it was the Barney head with the scope on it that caught his eye. Shocker.

Mike

From my whole family to yours, thank you. As soon as we know what can or can not be sent, my daughters and I will get to work on sending you and your family whatever you need. Stay safe.

This is such a FABULOUS idea, DGM!!!!! I love it!

Hi Mike and Angel! Welcome to the Dad Gone Mad family. We are crazy, but good!

And Mike, thanks for doing the hard, scary things that keep us all safe and sound. More of us appreciate it down to our cores than you even know.

Angel -- DGM needs a pic of the baby to post! How cute would that be!

It is amazing how we touch each other's lives through these goofy things we call blogs. You have touched more people than you will ever know. What a great idea to support Mike and Angel!

To Mike and Angel,
Thank you for all of your sacrifices that you make on a daily basis for your country. I look forward to learning more about you and your family.

Long time lurker, but finally a commenter. What a wonderful idea and yet another reason to keep visiting your site. My entire family is in some branch of the armed forces and small acts of kindness and humor help them and those of us here. I'm indebted to you for making us laugh and Mike and his family for keeping us strong.

To Mike, Angel and Baby - Thank you. Words can not express but know that you are in our prayers.

DGM, Hotwife and Wondersis, thank you for being amazing people, only ya'll would adopt an entire family.

First, congratulations on your brand-spanking new baby girl! Get ready, it's true - they are wildly expensive. Also, picturespicturespictures.

Secondly, I'm one of those crunchy granola types who honks at the peace protesters outside my bank and believes we need to be out of the Middle East.

That said, I BELIEVE IN YOU. You are doing an amazing thing for your family and the rest of us, and I am deeply grateful. Whatever and whenever we can repay you, I AM THERE. Letters? Cookies? Baby clothes? You name it.

Lastly, GO ILLINI!!

PS - Danny, hope HW loves on you for this one, you deserve it. ;>

De-lurking from beautiful Bakersfield CA here. What a great idea, anxiously awaiting further info. Frightened for service-member who may take on this IED job. Just lost 2 children and left 6 children wounded here in town due to an old round that was supposed to be unarmed and was given to them to play with. Children killed and maimed while playing after school...with family members witness to the explosion.

I will come out to say, thank you Mike, Angel and baby for what you are doing for us. I know thank you isn't enough but its what I have to give at the moment.

First - Thank you.

To Danny - great idea dude.

To Mike, Angel & Baby - I bow down to your awesome unselfishness and am grateful that you are out there protecting me & my family. You and yours are a special breed of human being. You do what I cannot. Words cannot express how much I admire you.

My words are spoken with the knowledge of what you are going through. My best friend spent 6 months in Kuwait and a year later, 14 months in Iraq. She left Iraq as a Staff Sargent with commendations in a heavy equipment Battalion. She recently put through her paperwork to enlist as an RN (her profession) and is now an Officer (I'm not sure of her rank). Her new unit was called up and she had a choice to go or not, she opted to stay home. I'm glad she did. She told me what it was like over there, what you all go through.

All Americans should be educated in what military life is like, the sacrifices that are made, the life that is endured in combat.

We sleep in blissfull ignorance, while our sons & daughters, brothers & sisters, fathers, mothers & friends, endure what we couldn't imagine in our worst nightmares.

The politics don't matter, they are decided by pompous asses in cushy offices, safely distant from conflict. Our armed forces go where they are told and do their job without question, so we may sleep safely and blissfully unaware.

I am humbled by your bravery, and what you do.

So, where do I send my peanut butter, used DVD's & Twizzlers?

I am blown away on so many levels right now. I thought I would get off leaving a simple comment on the title of this post believing I am the only TRUE Police fan and who the hell else would know that song blah, blah, blah.

BUT..oh my God, you are so wonderful for doing this and we all know Mike and his beautiful family deserve what you're doing for them so much (especially since he reads DGM).

My dad was a Force Recon Marine in Vietnam and the stories he tells about the loneliness alone make me wish we had the internet decades sooner than we did - so those amazing soldiers could be connected the way they are today through people like you and Wondersis (who rocks for her efforts and I'm here to help you if you need it, sis).

Just when we thought you couldn't get any cooler, you are still able to astound us. Thank you Danny!

Awesome idea DGM...

Mike & Family - thank you for all you do for our country. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

DGM, wow.

Mike and family, hello, and thank you. You're all in our thoughts and prayers.

What a wonderful thing to do. Great idea. Thank you, Mike and Angel - I know you've sacrificed a lot for our country. Great idea, DGM folks!

I feel compelled to comment although I don't know what to say. What do you say to someone who puts his/her life on the line for others on a regular basis? I think the bottom line is that, Mike, I pray for your safe return to your family. And thank you!

Thank you from my family to yours.
God Bless you for making our land the land of the free....because of you, the brave.

Danny & HW? thanks for making this blog a light spot in the day for me and so many others. You two give me hope.
Mike, Angel & Wee Angel? You give me even more hope. Duty and love and new life and does it get more hopeful than that? I think not.
Sign me up, dude. Angel? let us know if your Wee Angel might be in need of some knitted loveliness to keep her warm as the winter approaches. Mike? Likewise. I hear the Iraq winters are bitchin' cold.
I thank you, too, for taking on the job there. May you come home safe and soon, soon. Alrighty. Now tell us what you and your Brit mateys would like from stateside.

DGM - I am proud and honored to call you family! And Mike.... I know Angel and your baby girl are proud to call you daddy! Thank you!

I'm finally delurking.

Thank you Mike, Angel and your baby. You are not forgotten and you (and your fellow soldiers and families) are thought of often.

mike, angel & baby

thank you for all that you are doing and the sacrifices you are making. please know, all of you are in our thoughts and prayers.

dgm, i am "de-lurking" to say bravo. maybe this will encourage others to "adopt" our military men, women and families.

I've been reading for awhile and have never commented. I am a very proud Army wife and when I see people doing things like this it makes all the sacrifices we have made worth it. Just doing or saying things like I've read here does so much for them. I know this post tonight has even made my husband a reader of yours.

To Mike, Angel, baby and all your soldiers-Thank you so much for all you do, my husband said he'd be on a plane headed to you if he could.

Hi Mike,
Don't know if you are stationed at Scott or not,but if so and you've been there for more than 3 years, you've probably met my husband. My husband is now flying an MD-6 for the NGA. (For you non-military folk that would be Metal Desk with 6 drawers and NGA is an Intel agency) I'm happy to send a signed copy of my book "Mommy Guilt" to your family. It contains a special section on "Solo Parenting" and contains tips and tricks I learned when my own husband was deployed here and there during his 18 years of duty (and he is stilll serving!).
Danny, please let me know where I need to send the book.

Sign us up! We have several friends over there. We are always on board to adopt another.

We'd love to lend a hand.

Mike, Angel and baby- Thank you so much for all you have both sacrificed in the name of freedom.

Mike, Angel & Baby,
And to all the troops,

Thank you so much for the sacrifices you are making for all of us. My entire family is behind you and praying for you.

God Bless!

Teshuvah, dude. Rock on. Count me in.

My heart and prayers go out to Mike, Angel, their families, and everyone else who's willing to do things that I wouldn't be willing to do. God bless.

I don't have this blog but I read now and again - I delurked a few times but no one said anything. Um, I'll do what i can for them but I don't have much. I do try though.

Hey Laplander (that would be Mike and family), Cheesehead checking in and signing up for Project Lovebomb.
Also sending along my gratitude, awe, and respect for you and all your fellow soldiers. There aren't the right words or enough of them to express how much it is understood to the core, of what you sacrifice every day. (Well, that we try to understand.)
Thank you.
Go Bears! Go Pack!

Mr. Evans: Redemption is thy name.

Mike, Angel and Baby -

Thank you..... Thank you. <3

I am so very happy to be joining this global family of love. Angel, I hold a special place in my heart for you. My Dad was a pilot in the Air Force. Among many of the nerve racking missions he was assigned was flying in the blockade of Cuba during the "Days of October" when Kennedy was president. At school we were practicing nuclear bomb drills and at home everything on the news was "possible start of WWIII". I just wanted my Daddy to come home.
So, Mike and family, thank you from the depths of my soul for all you are enduring. You are the reason this country is the best.
Mike let us know how many people are with you over there so we can send enough for everyone. I can get some English candies and cookies here so ask for requests.
Danny you are The Man! Wondersis, I will include a check to help with postage. Thanks

Fantastic idea DGM.

Am delurking, also for the first time, to send my love and best wishes to Mike et famille all the way from London town. Hope the Brits are treating you well out there!

hi mike and angel - us brits have'nt forgotten about you guys over there. please accept my thanks, whether you want to be there or not :)
Emma, Cambridge UK

Mike, Angel & Baby!

Thank you so very much!!

DGM and Wondersis: You rock.

What a great idea!
Care packages from Texas will follow...

Love to Mike, Angel and Baby from a NY gal whose AirForce boyfriend most likely will be going to Iraq in December. I'm so scared and confused I haven't been able to talk about it yet.

This is a great idea DGM, not only is it going to help Mike and his family, it's going to help so many people, including me.

Even though your blog can be a little crude to us "Christian Bloggers" sometimes, I keep coming to visit because you have a great heart.

Things like this give me faith in the human race again! Mike, Angel and baby we are here for ya!

DGM, Hot Wife and Wondersis you are all too wonderful for words!

DGM:

Way to go. Mike and Angel, as a military member from up north(read Canada) I have been away before and probably will be again, albeit not to some place like you are now, Like others i read this blog because it starts my day with a laugh, hope it starts yours the same way. Thoughts and prayers to you both.

Thank you, Mike and Angel, for all you're doing, both abroad and on the home front. I appreciate your sacrifices more than I can say. *big hugs*

Dammit, DGM, you made me well up. Well done, indeed.

Dear Mike and family,
Thank you so much for what you're doing. I can only begin to fathom the sacrifice you're making. God bless each and every one of you. Take care.

DGM, you SOB, you are making me cry.

Thanks Mike for your service, Thank you Angel for your support of Mike.
And dear Baby your Daddy will be home soon.

I'm a lurker here- another Army wife. Your post, and Mike's comments, made me laugh, and then cry. We are halfway through a deployment here and it does my heart WONDERS to read this blog, and to see what you are doing for this military family. Thank you Mike and Angel, for your sacrifice.

Mike...
Thank you and your overseas family for all that you do. You guys are in our prayers. Angel & baby too!

DGM...You flippin ROCK!

Dear Mike and Angel,
From an American Navy guy and a Brit wife--we both know what you're going through. Deployments suck. Stay strong.

Mike, You're the man! Thanks for what you're doing. Angel and bambina, hang in there. We're all rooting for you!

From another lurker...

Mike, We are forever greatful for all the sacrifices that you and everyone in the military makes by being in the situation you are in. I hope that you are protected and come home safely to your family. I can't imagine right now how they must feel, but I will someday as I have a son who will be enlisting soon.
DGM... you are the best too!

De-lurking....actually I "de-lurk" here occasionally - this is the best reason I have had. Mike, Angel and family, you are in my family's daily thoughts and prayers - before today you were included in the "all of those that choose to serve and protect for our well being and the safety and freedom of others around the world" - as of today we will tell our three little ones about you and your family and sacrifice and they will pray for you nightly until you are all together again, as it should be. DGM, this act of kindness is a bit overwhelming; such a beautiful idea - your heart is truly where it should be. Diane

OMG!!! Sign me up! DGM, best idea ever!

This is such a great idea! Mike and Angel, thank you for the great sacrifices you are making. You are far braver than I ever could be and I appreciate it more than I can say. Thank you!