Eid al-Adha

Johnny Kabul doesn't see the hand of AfghaniDan...

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the holiday of EID for an encore!  That's a rough translation of the banner above...in my imagination, anyway.

Truthfully, it just concluded...but the past three days (four when you tack on the preparation day, which gets declared a national holiday each time anyway) was "Big Eid," which follows Eid al-Fitr on the calendar by about 70 days.  Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) is all about the feast, commemorating the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for God...which ended up in smiles and feasting all around.  Some of my guys were out on Dushanbe (Monday) selecting and purchasing the cow for their respective gatherings.  This holiday immediately follows the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage by Muslims to Mecca...which meant that we saw lots of footage of Saudi Arabia on Afghan TV recently.

Since the locals were on holiday most of the week, yesterday turned into "puppy day" for a few of us...and it was as delightful as that sounds.  Really it was a relaxing lunch away from the rat race with our Indian friends at AINA, an inspirational Paris-based company which describes itself as a "third-generation humanitarian association".  They employ hundreds of Afghans and work with countless more in doing the work they do...never taking a dime of even a grant in return.  The stated mission sums it up well: Aina promotes independent media development and cultural expression as a foundation of democracy.  

Kabul street scene, quiet during Eid.

"What is this, a school built for ANTS?"

 (you Zoolander fans should appreciate this)

The Daddy Dog dances.

I don't usually plug; these guys are just that good, both at what they do and in their humanist philosophy.  But this time -- in addition to the great company and delicious Indian lunch -- there was an added bonus: PUPPIES.  They found that five newborn furballs had joined them in the compound, about 25 days ago.  They were the softest, gentlest pups, when they weren't busy nipping at my boots or hands, or mauling each other all over the driveway.  It was hilarious...and utterly adorable.

Somehow, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog came to mind.

Pam attempts to break up a savage attack...

While I check the pulse on this cuddly rag doll.

Puppy take-downs are the best!

Tired scrappers take a breather...

Then get right back at it. That's a classic pin!

I assessed the goon two minutes for boarding. 

The mama dog approved.

He chose his own penalty box.

Happy Eid al-Adha from Kabul!

If you'd like to learn more about AINA, please see their link below.  There are some absolutely brilliant photos in their galleries, some of the best I have ever seen of Afghanistan...

Aina World

And if you'd like to know why I'll be growing an increasingly disturbing dark fuzz above my upper lip, please, read on!  Though joining the party late, I decided to join my cousin Tim in raising awareness and donations for prostate cancer research by participating in "Movember."  We'll grow our moustaches for 30 days minimum, looking ridiculous so that people ask why...and I for one have long resisted the deployed-'stache habit.  Please check out the link below for more info or to donate to a worthy cause...

http://us.movember.com/mospace/1275694/

I look something like this with a 'stache. Finding a photo with the beard hidden is the best I can do - since you don't want RedneckiDan, who awaits on the page. As I said, ridiculous.