What to Send: A Short List

Wikipedia has an interesting bit on the origins of care packages. If you are anything like my father-in-law, you might be interested to know that...

"The first CARE Packages contained:^[3]

• one pound of beef in broth
• one pound of steak and kidneys
• 8 ounces of liver loaf
• 8 ounces of corned beef
• 12 ounces of luncheon loaf (like Spam)
• 8 ounces of bacon
• 2 pounds of margarine
• one pound of lard
• one pound of fruit preserves
• one pound of honey
• one pound of raisins
• one pound of chocolate
• 2 pounds of sugar
• 8 ounces of egg powder
• 2 pounds of whole-milk powder
• 2 pounds of coffee"

So, perhaps not a jumping off point for what to send Marc. Maybe this list from him would be more helpful:

• protein bars and/or protein shakes
• stationary (got some regular paper and envelopes today so I could start writing to you guys, especially Wesley, but it'd be cool to have something a little nicer)
• smelly candles or incense or oil burner thingy. Our room smells a bit like poop.
• Warcraft time card. These would be nice once the internet gets up in the room.
• gift cards to places I could shop online. Best Buy cards, for example would be awesome.
• letters or emails. It's really nice actually to just get emails from people, or even just Facebook messages. Regular letters would be nice too, I guess.
• magnets. I don't really NEED things to hang up in the CHU (containerized housing unit), but it might be fun to have like a collection of stuff that people sent.
• I'd prefer not to get a bunch of junk food. Not that it'd be bad, cause I could just put it in the pool at the flight line for everybody to enjoy, but I don't want to have a bunch of junk sitting around that I have to try not to eat. :) Sunflower seeds wouldn't be bad.

They do have to open the packages in front of a commanding officer, so everything is monitored. Alcohol is prohibited. Also, be mindful of things that will melt, like chocolate, or spoil since transit time can take up to 4 weeks (though I heard that M&Ms hold up well...melts in your mouth, not in the desert).