“TODAY I GOT ATTACK BY A STINKIN’ DOG!!!”
Ahhhhh… What a difference a day can make… Last night we finally checked into our hotel and got some much needed sleep. The USO was kind enough to put us up in a super sexy luxurious hotel. The beds are like white clouds and I swear the pillows sing you to sleep.
We woke up this morning fully rested and ready to have some fun in the HOT African sun. It wasn’t until this morning that we could truly appreciate the location of our hotel. As we all came down for lobby call this morning we realized that there was a beautiful “endless” pool out back with a swim-up tiki bar that over looks the Red Sea. The biblical history behind this body of water was enough to leave us all in awe, while the clarity and color of the water begged us all to skip our plans and hang out poolside. Unfortunately that never happened, but our day was equally as impressive.
We ate a five star breakfast and then loaded up into the trucks that would bring us through the poverty stricken countryside to a military base nearby. Now, the poverty level in this part of Africa is like none that I’ve ever seen before. We had a glimpse of the cultural differences last night when we saw six-year-old children sitting on the side of the road at two in the morning. But this morning we saw grown adults sleeping in shacks made of tree branches and selling fish off a stick on the corner. There seemed to be garbage everywhere and people were doing hard work in the heat of the morning that was already creeping up around 100 degrees.
Once we finally made it to the Naval base we were greeted by the commanding officers and given a tour of their facilities. We saw their medical and dental facilities, their military police units and we even had an opportunity to visit their K-9 units. These dogs are highly trained and even have official military ranks. As we went through their K-9 facility I got to see their dogs like I’ve never seen a dog before. That would be with me running as fast as I could while a growling, drooling K-9 was chasing me from behind. There are no words for the feeling you get when you look behind you and realize you’re about to be attacked. The only words I could really muster up were “HOLY $&#@!!! WHAT THE *#%$ and MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY”!!! Mom, today I was attacked and chewed on by an angry German Sheppard. The crazy part is, I volunteered for it. I’ll guess I really will do just about anything for some quality video footage. I’m not sure which part was worse: getting tackled and attacked by a seriously ferocious dog or wearing a 50 pound 200 degree protective coat in the mid-day heat of Africa. If I didn’t have that padded coat on, I would not being sitting here writing this right now. But all in all, I’m happy I wrestled with the beast and it was surely my favorite part of the day. That cute little doggy even gave me a nice little black and blue mark on my arm for a souvenir. Thanks Jimmy. (That’s my dog.)
After the K-9 unit tried to have me for lunch, we went to the D-FAC (dining facility) for a lunch of our own. We had some time to sit and eat with the troops and sailors before we moved along with our guided tour of the base. After lunch, they brought us out to the runway so we could meet some of the Air force crews and take a close up look at their attack helicopters and 50-caliber machine guns that hang off the back. The bullets on these guns are at least 6-7 inches long and almost a full inch in diameter. After we finished taking turns draping the belt of bullets over our shoulders for pictures I felt like the terminator. We then paid a surprise visit to their military fire department during a routine training exercise on the tarmac. I gotta say, I am always impressed and extremely proud of our troops, soldiers, sailors, airmen and military personnel all around the world. The work they put in on a daily basis to help keep us all safe is amazing and to think that these men and women do this stuff out here in this unbearable African heat is beyond comprehension. I can barely last a couple days in the sun while our military is out there in this heat all day, everyday with loads of heavy armor and gear.
By this point in the day, the temperature had soared well past 113 degrees and we were heading back to the venue for sound check. We spent as much time as possible in the air-conditioned venue before we headed over to a secluded part of the base where we finally had a chance to meet the Admiral of this base. Surprisingly, the Admiral wasn’t as stern as I was expecting. The Admiral is Navy Seal and he was very excited to meet Naughty By Nature and Sway. We received our first commemorative coins from the Admiral and then headed back to the venue to enjoy the air-conditioning some more. By 20:00 hours, about 400 soldiers, sailors and troops had filled the venue and they were ready to Partay!! The show went off like the well-oiled machine that it is and after the show we sat for pictures and autographs with every person in that building. We then made a quick stop at the D-FAC once again for some sandwiches and drinks to take back to the hotel.
Now back in the comforts of our ultra plush rooms, I’m finally able to sit back, watch today’s video footage and try to figure out again why in-the-hell I volunteered to be attacked by that. I have issues. The only thing left to do is get a good nights rest and dream about what asinine training exercises I can volunteer for tomorrow. Will I wrestle a shark? Will I try to stop a bullet with my teeth? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Until next time… Take it easy dog… Don’t chew my head off. lol.
Tags: 2010, @NaughtyByNature, Christopher Melz, Hip-Hop, Michael Melz, Naughty By Nature, Sway, The Wonder TwinZ, Ujima Productions, USO, WonderTwinZ, YOUR MOTHER
