📧 “Rutba manuscript”
20120226 @ 1530 from Barrett
Here ya go. It's a rough edit of the formatted manuscript; it hasn't gone to the copy desk yet, but it's cleared the initial content edit. Figured I should go ahead and send it on. Photos are just dummies marking space for now. Ditto for cutlines. ... The deeper I delved into this story, esp. the subtitle (War, Peace and the Good Samaritan Story in Iraq) your role/perspective took on added significance. Although I know you didn't feel you were utilized to your fullest in Rutba, in the retelling of the Rutba story your combat and post-war angst/development/education/sermon and effort to build a nonprofit was given a voice, I believe. I wrote it with the respect I have for you; I hope that comes through in the narrative. Feel free to holler at me. Much peace ~ greg
@ 1555 to Barrett
great! just to clarify - if i see stuff that is in error (like rank, etc. especially personal details that might also be present in my book), do you want me to let you know of them? and if so, how (highlight/comment on this Word file, send you an email with a bullet list & page numbers)? and if those would be helpful, when do you need them back by?
@ 1759 from Barrett
Thanks for asking re clarification. Yes, please correct the factual stuff and work with me on the other stuff that's personal/sensitive. ... You can just mark it on the attached manuscript, and then reattach and tell me whereabouts to look for it. Or you can tell me via email if it's easier for you. For example, I haven't read your entire manuscript yet (looks good, what I've read) but I did a search for Rutba (or Rutbah, as you're spelling it) and I saw that you said something about Shane, etc., staying in 2010 in the hospital where he, Cliff and Weldon were treated in 2003. They weren't treated in the hospital in 2003, never even saw it. Because it had been burned to the ground, more or less, the driver in the station wagon took them directly to the Health Care Center in Rutba (i.e., the clinic). They never saw the bombed hospital, which was the rebuilt hospital that we stayed in during the 2010 reunion. ... Deadline on the manuscript corrections? Not sure. I only know that they are rushing it through the pipeline because I botched so many deadlines. Sooner the better, but I know there are a ton of end notes and copy and you have other things on your plate. It might help to zero in on your parts. You are heaviest in the narrative pp. 96-154 and pp. 195-203. Hope that helps. Thanks for the check.
20120301 @ 0512 from Barrett
One last thing to keep in mind when reading the full manuscript and asking your friend for insight: When you asked to join the reunion trip to Rutba you injected yourself into this story. You were an ex-soldier who experienced a rebirth of sorts during and after the war, and then asked me (the journalist/author) nine months into the planning to join the trip. As a journalist it's difficult for me to tell the story of Rutba authentically/honestly without including your history and your perspective gleaned by me during the return of 2010. Obviously, [redacted] felt similarly because his planned film featured you. But it's difficult for me to accurately know/describe your perspective from the outside looking in. It's why I read a large chunk of chapter six to you in DC, to elicit input and correction, and why I've shared the manuscript as a whole. Like you said, these things are best done collaboratively.
Hope that helps clarify some things from my perspective. Talk soon.
