Dear Momma,

This guy Jack in my platoon isn’t lucky like me. He’s never even heard of a Snickerdoodle or a Turtleback cookie and you know what I told him? "My mom makes them for me whenever I ask. And she can whip up a batch in about the time it takes to preheat the oven. She is the best!" And I told him all about the icing and the pecans and the cinnamon and you know what happened? He started to drool! And his eyes rolled back in his head and he said “tell me again what they taste like,” and then I swear as the two of us huddled together in the rain on the jungle floor whispering about cookies we couldn’t believe how easy it was for us to conjure up the smell of that sweet aroma just by the power of suggestion. It was then that we realized, we could take this mind game to the next level, so now Ma, guess what? We are on an adventure vacation on a tropical island. Don’t get me wrong. We are doing our job to the best of our ability. No loafing or insubordination; it’s just that we are navigating one step, one day at a time as skilled soldiers inside our own imagined storybook, dreaming big dreams, looking forward to coming home; me, to a batch of your finest confections, and a big old bear hug from you. Please forgive me if I squeeze you too tight!

Love,

Andy