Prologue.

I was temping in an insurance office in Hartford when the call came. It was my agent, Vinny DeShapiro:

Bill, I don't know what in hell you did, but some cracker ass Jew paper, pardon my language, but c'mon, some daily called the Middletown Republican Chassidic Dispatch, I shit you not, just called. Their guy, the guy they got covering McCain, Mordecai Weissenberg, his wife caught some weird disease, some unspecified infection, and he decided to bag out. Quit, ya know? So they want you. The pay is shit, but I said my man Bill he works for the art, and maybe a touch more than the crap you're offering. You know how it goes. Anyway, I hear you're filing papers for some actuary, so not like you're going to complain, right? So, you, guy, get on that horse of yours or whatever you're riding these days and stop by the office... No, Bill, you don't need to go to Middletown. Jesus, have you ever been to Middletown? Daughter looked at Wesleyan. Weird place. So you... you get assignments, you file everything electronically. Yes, Bill, I will get print copies for your files. Whaddaya think I am, some sort of schmuck?

And he hung up.

It is 4pm in Baghdad and we just landed. I am waiting for my transport from Baghdad International Airport to the Green Zone where I will join up with Senator McCain for his current congressional trip with Senators Lieberman and Graham.

Hell of a way to start a new gig!

Wild Bill.