re: #160 Killgore Trout

Alex Crawford: THE ROAD IS ACTUALLY GRIDLOCKED. 3 HIGHWAY LANES FILLED WITH REBEL FORCES ENTERING TRIPOLI

Hey, Alex Crawford is a chick!

[…]

I consider myself a bit of a slow starter. I’m 47 now but I cannot remember ever not wanting to be a foreign correspondent. Lack of opportunity, lack of jobs and definitely lack of contraception meant I had to wait. But I realised recently trekking in Wardak Province in Afghanistan that perhaps age does have its advantages. I was wearing a burqa to protect my modesty, stumbling every few steps.

When I peeked out from under my garment, the hooded militant taking us to our meeting spot glanced round and saw me. A conversation ensued in Pashto with my Afghan interpreter Faisal who then turned to me and said; “It’s OK. He says you’re an old lady. You can take off the burqa.” You know you’re getting old when even the militants start looking young. And yet I feel like I am just at the beginning.

That’s the end of the article. It’s a good one.