Tuesday, 17 December 2002

Excerpt:  'I'm not gonna go down the street and party'

My buddy Aaron Tippin apparently had a fabulous time entertaining U.S. troops in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area during Thanksgiving, but there was a bit of a glitch.

Aaron and his mini-entourage did most of their traveling by military cargo plane, but eventually they needed to take a commercial flight out of Qatar. This apparently caused a bit of a problem because Aaron didn't have his passport stamped for entry, so authorities weren't thrilled about giving him the exit stamp.

''All I know is that I don't speak good Arabic, and they were saying something to the interpreter to the effect of, 'You're not leaving here,' '' Aaron told me yesterday.

''We were illegal aliens to them, I guess. Oh man, the questions: 'How'd you get here? What were you doing here?' Oh my.''

Aaron ended up being delayed for 24 hours, and he barricaded himself into a hotel.

''Hey, man, this is where some Taliban are. I'm not gonna go down the street and party. I stayed hid.''

Hope he doesn't use Tippin's road manager

Aaron Tippin just got back, but singer Darryl Worley (Second Wind) yesterday was packing for his Christmas trip to Afghanistan.

It's not only Darryl's first trip to entertain U.S. troops, but it's his first trip overseas. He actually got a bit emotional yesterday talking about the trip's importance for him.

''I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be going. That may sound off the wall, but myself and all my brothers considered the military, and every war we've ever had, someone in the family has been fighting. Even in the Civil War,'' he said.

''I got so excited when I heard about it. I thought, man, what a way to get overseas. It's almost a spiritual experience to be blessed to give something back to people who are laying their lives on the line.''

Besides, Darryl is ready to eat military meals.

''Yeah, I love food in a can.''

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