[Sca-cooks] Why no alcohol?

[butterflye at runbox.com]

> >I have heard about not sending goodies made with alcohol into Islamic
> nations. I know it has/had something to do with alcohol being banned. My
> question is, would our goodies be sent somewhere in the US and shipped by
> military transport to bases overseas? Or would we be trying to mail things
> individually?  Besides, its difficult to tell whether vanilla extract or
> vanilla sugar was used to make the cookies after they are baked.

My husband is in the military and has been stationed in the Middle East a couple of times, so I can throw in on this one...

No one is going to know if you used real vanilla with alcohol content or artificial vanilla, so that's not an issue at all, but something obviously booze-smelling like rum balls would raise a red flag and possible cause them to lose the whole package, not just the offending item. Same holds true for any gift of cordial-filled chocolates, if the alcohol content is obvious, it's not going to get through (but you don't want to send chocolate there anyway, as it will melt. M&M cookies are a better choice than chocolate chip, as the chips get real messy in transit.)

When sending goodies, remember that it can take a month for a package to get from here to anywhere in the Middle East, and sending Priority will not help. Send things that are not perishable and that will not adversely react to heat. Many a soldier and sailor has received a month-old package of moldy muffins. No carrot cake, banana bread, or anything else with fruit base will survive that much time in and out of cold and hot storage spaces. Your best bets are oatmeal cookies and M&M cookies, if you must send homemade. The guys love to get things like Crackerjack, Shoestring potatoes (they hold up better than chips), nuts of any kind, little packets of crackers & cheese or crackers & peanut butter.

Don't send pork products either; no Vienna Sausages unless they are chicken or turkey, same goes for Spam -- my husband loves Spam and always misses it when he's over there.) Beef jerky is fine and hold up better in the heat.

What they love most is news of home -- toss in a local newspaper and they will read it cover to cover, even if it is a month old, because it has news from HOME. Send cards, messages from kids, reminders that we are thinking of them and support them all the way. They also don't get a lot of great cartoons there, so send them the funny papers or cut their favorite out of the daily paper and send them a couple weeks' worth.

Don't mention war protests at home or how much everyone hates the war -- they already hate it enough, and they get to see enough people who hate Americans, so they don't need to think that Americans are protesting against THEM.

Send up-beat news as much as possible, and DON'T (if you are a spouse) go on about how much they are needed at home -- it makes them feel guilty for not being home, and takes the focus off their work, which can put them in danger. Let them know they are missed without being whiny or dependent. They need to believe (even if it ain't always so) that we can make it these months without them and all will be well when they get home. Think back to the WWI and WWII wives who were told to "keep the home fires burning." This is what our guys need to hear, that we are holding down the fort until they return.

Didn't mean to get so wordy. Just remember, no booze, no pork, no melty stuff, and all will be well.

YIS ~~Lorète