Paul

They killed my old friend Paul the day before yesterday on the 18th of June 2004. Saudi Terrorists. They cut his head off and then put it on the internet. He was 49 years old. Around 12 years ago Paul answered an ad I had placed in the paper for a room in my house for rent. I met him at his hotel, Room 15 on the top floor of the Landmark Hotel in Killeen, Texas sometime in 1992 I suppose it was. Paul had a hard time with the rent at first. I moved all his stuff out onto the sidewalk one day. He was on the phone to Lockheed-Martin telling them to send him money. I still don't understand that. I think he was supporting a lot of mouths. He had a condo in Daytona and an expensive son and family in NJ.

He helped me build my cedar closets and put a tile floor in my master bath. He never asked for anything for doing it. We became pretty good friends. It was always great to see him. Shortly before he left for Saudi Arabia he came home with a tatoo on his left shoulder. I chided him for it. "What are you doing Paul"?, I yelled. A tatoo at your age? He took it in stride. "Something to do, he replied". Shortly after he told me that he may be out of a job shortly unless he took their job offer in Saudi Arabia. It wasn't dangerous then. Well before 9/11. On the day he left we hugged. I could tell he didn't want to go. But he went. We wrote occasionally and a few years later he told me that he had married a girl from Tailand. Noom was her name. I suppose Paul cut out a life for himself over there because he never came back. He wrote that Noom had opened up a restaurant and that he was happy. After they nabbed him on his way home one day and cut his head off on television they found his body beside the road. I knew it was him from the tattoo. Months later on a raid of a terrorist enclave they found his head in the freezer.

Contractors usually are housed in areas. Despite their work location they live together in large housing areas.. Its criminal what they did to him. He was a gentle soul. Sayonara Paul. I prayed for your soul. At least you knew what was coming and had plenty of time to prepare for it. Rest in peace good buddy.