Why This Carpet Will Never Fly

This is by far one of the most unique gifts I have ever received. My cousin, who is three years younger than me, signed up for the Marines right out of high school. He courageously served two tours in Afghanistan where he was in charge of going in with his bomb sniffing dog to find land mines so they could be disengaged. He completed his contract last year and is now living a civilian lifestyle.

To keep in touch with each other we used Facebook messenger and during one conversation he asked if I wanted a flying carpet from Afghanistan. Quicker than a jack rabbit, I said yes. It took 2 years before I got it and finally this past thanksgiving my flying carpet was given to me.

The first thing I did was examine it closely. While not thick, it looks like it is hand weaved and the thread count on it is unreal. It feels that it is made out of silk and the color changes from a black to deep rich blue depending on the lighting.

With my eyes big I thanked and hugged my cousin and kept saying how beautiful it is. He being a nonchalant man of mystery replied, “Yeah no problem, just make sure to never take that on a flight with you.”

“Why?”

“That carpet was going to be burned but before it was thrown in the fire I asked the commanding office if I could have it.”

“Why was it going to be burned?”

“It was confiscated by Marines from a mosque that the Taliban had taken over to make explosives in, so it’s likely that it still has explosive residue on it.”

“So you are telling me that this carpet was in the same room with the Taliban as they were making explosives.”

“Yeah, who knows they may have sat on it too.”