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My dear friend Emily has a daughter serving in Iraq. She’s been there about a month. And, Emily called today to tell me that Bekkah had been “wounded.”

Now, the quotes around the word wounded should have let you in on the secret that it took me a bit longer to grasp. Emily called and told me that she thought she should let me know that she had just gotten a call from Bekkah.

Since I am writing a series of articles about Bekkah for a local newspaper, I wasn’t all that surprised. I get emails and updates regarding Bekkah on a regular basis.

“She’s been wounded..”

Emily didn’t stop talking, but I did interupt with a huge gasp and “Oh my god, is she alright?”

“…she forgot to duck.”

Okay, my brain was addled with the thought that this lovely young Army Reservist had been injured in Iraq, but still I caught the Reagan refernce. For those of you up past your bedtime, that’s what Ronald Reagan said after he was shot. “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

So I began to get a bit suspicious, but was still primarily concerned about Bekkah. I should have heard in Emily’s voice that Bekkah was fine.

In the interest of full disclosure, Emily never actually lied to me. As I pointed out to her, it’s just that the connotation of what she said and the dennotation of what she said are fairly different.

What she meant is that Bekkah, who is a heavy equipment operator, had a run-in with a dump truck. She forgot to duck, well, raised up too soon, and got hit in the head. She may need stitches.

 So she was technically wounded in Iraq–a head wound even–technically.

After I gave Emily a hard time for her trick, she said she and her husband had chosen me to play this dirty trick on because they knew I would forgive them.

I will. Eventually.

Actually, I find it gratifying to know that these people who are working hard to raise their grandson while his Mommy is in Iraq can joke and play. Hopefully, it helps them get through the day just a little bit easier while they worry about their little girl who is “over there.”

But, I may still kill them.

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