Posted by
Billy on Monday, January 24, 2011 10:28:14 AM
They met in Iraq, fell into an easy friendship built on long walks and fresh hay.
Then the war tore them apart, made it likely that the Omaha Marine colonel with the booming voice and the Iraqi donkey with the ear-splitting bray would never hear each other again.
Now, after nearly two years of waiting — after dozens of international phone calls, countless hours tangled in red tape, and one Iraqi sheik who nearly ruined everything — the final scenes of this man-beast buddy flick are set to play out, Hollywood-style.
If all goes as planned, retired Col. John Folsom will soon travel to Iraq, where he will personally escort Smoke the Donkey on a journey that will end in Omaha.
Smoke is moving to Nebraska.
“I feel kind of like how you'd feel if you lost your dog for 18 months and then found him,” Folsom said Friday. “(Smoke) is a good friend.