friday takeout

Adam Patrick Green

Disability Services Coordinator | Peosta Campus

When you were growing up, what game or activity did you absolutely dread playing, and why?

I hated when we had to play dodgeball in gym class. I liked the game itself, but I wore glasses when I was a kid and it was like the ball had its own gravitational pull to my face. You also have to take in account that the dodgeballs that we used back then were the hard rubber “Voit” balls and did far more damage than the foam ones they use today. It was almost guaranteed that I would end up going home that day with broken glasses. I am not sure which was more painful, getting hit in the face with a dodgeball or having to endure the constant lectures from my parents about them always having to pay to fix my glasses and them not being made of money.

What is the age in your life that stands out as the most memorable, and why?

The ages of 20 and 21 were the most significant for me. At the time I was an Infantry Paratrooper with the 82^nd Airborne Division (Army). It was 2003 and our battalion was notified that we were going to be deployed to Kuwait as standby in case war were to break out in Iraq. As we are all aware, it did. We were the first ground troops in Iraq. In the beginning we were tasked with clearing a route for support units to move from Kuwait to Baghdad. Shortly after, tempers began to flare up in Fallujah and our mission changed to provide security for schools and other places that were considered high risk for attacks. Then we were called on to move to Baghdad where our job was to conduct raids and clear buildings, looking for high priority targets based on intel we received. We ended up staying in Iraq for a year instead of the three months we were originally slated for. Needless to say, my 21^st birthday was very different than the conventional 21^st birthdays most people have.

What is something you just realized that you are embarrassed you didn’t realize earlier?

I was surprised to learn recently that the Cardinal bird is named after the Cardinals from the Catholic Church, and not the other way around.

If you could morph two animals to make one super animal what would you choose and why?

I would have to say a crocodile mixed with a Capuchin monkey would be pretty terrifying. Imagine if you will a warm/cold blooded, reptile/primate hybrid that has a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch, a prehensile tail, opposable thumbs, long limbs, is incredibly agile, has armor like skin that bullets could not penetrate and is highly aggressive. It would be the scariest Apex predator on earth. Or a human mixed with a Blue Whale, because that would just be funny to see.

If you could start all over again, what would be your career choice?

Since I can remember I always wanted to be an archaeologist. When I was young it was because I would be able to play in the dirt and not get yelled at. Later in life I became fascinated with the concept of digging up historic artifacts to understand how past civilizations lived and how they impacted how we live today … while at the same time playing in the dirt.