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Army nurse adapting to Uzbekistan Lyssa Lenske -- TF 261st Med -- APO, AE O9311.
Odds and ends from around the Valley: While the Daily News has been keeping U.S. Army nurse Lyssa Lenske of West Hills up on news from home during her nine-month tour of duty in Uzbekistan, her recent e-mail to family and friends gives us a humorous, candid glimpse of what life is like for some of our troops over there.

Lyssa, 28, graduated from El Camino High in 1993, and is one of two nurses assigned to the medical facility at a high-security Uzbek air base turned over to the United States. It's about 100 miles north of the Afghanistan border.

"Hi, all, the country here in Uzbekistan is about as beautiful as sand can get, I suppose," she begins. "We're about 2000ish feet in the mountains and it's been getting crispy cold so the snow will start soon. Last year it came mid December.

"We live in tents that are air conditioned and heated, get two hot meals a day, and shrimp, crab, lobster and steak every Sunday. We have a gym which I frequent daily, and about five movies shown twice a day in a mini theater type room.

"I work from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., and if I'm not too tired, I see the 8 p.m. movie. All in all, this place has been compared to the movie 'Groundhog Day,' which is quite suitable. Same thing day in and day out.

"If it wasn't for my trusty watch I literally wouldn't know what day of the week it was. We've become very proficient mice catchers. Our research has shown that nine out of 10 mice prefer tootsie rolls over caramel, and that the average mouse weighs about a quarter and two dimes.

"We have too much time on our hands, think?"

What their daughter didn't mention in her e-mail, said her parents, Wendy and Steve Lenske, were the torrential rains and foot-deep mud, the constant bugs, large spiders and rats running around in their tent day and night.

"She said the previous group in her tent caught 300 rats during their six-month stay," Wendy said. "They're learning to sleep through anything, even the rat traps snapping all night long.

"Lyssa gets up at 6 a.m., works out, showers if the water isn't frozen, and then reports to the hospital for a 12-hour shift, seven days a week. Sometimes she gets half a day free on Sundays.

"She volunteered for mail call duty so she could meet people, but she still doesn't know too many people yet in the two months she's been there."

That's where we come in. This young woman, who's had her parents send her copies of the Daily News so she could keep up with news from the hometown she misses, deserves to hear back from us.

You can drop her a thank-you note or holiday card at Lyssa Lenske -- TF 261st Med -- APO, AE O9311.

There's also a Web site she and a friend have started -- www.jaimerayne.com -- that shows you the hospital where they work, the "mall" where they shop -- a tent -- and her fellow servicemen and servicewomen in the unit.

Drop Lyssa a line and tell her we miss her, too.

While we're showing support for our troops overseas this holiday season, remember the great Hands Across the Battlefield program over in Burbank.

A handful of veterans, like Mickey DePalo and Marc Cutter, are doing a wonderful job of making sure our servicemen and servicewomen receive items they want that are in short supply overseas.

You can give Mickey a call at Verdugo Park -- (818) 238-5390 -- to see what they need for their next shipment overseas in early January.

In addition, monetary donations to buy items can be made through the city of Burbank, Hands Across the Battlefield, P.O. Box 6459, Burbank, 91510.

Sam and Frances Aberbom of Sherman Oaks want me to pass on their thanks to you for stepping up to the plate for them.

I wrote about this wonderful couple last month, and all the volunteering they do for charitable organizations in the Valley.

In addition, Sam collects used Christmas and greeting cards for the abused and abandoned kids at St. Jude's Ranch for Children to recycle and make money for a college fund.

Frances makes afghans for the kids in Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the City of Hope Medical Center.

After the column ran, Sam and Frances say they were swamped with people donating yarn and used Christmas cards so they could help the kids. Here's just one of the heartwarming stories.

"I had four widowers bring by yarn," Frances said. "Their wives had passed away, and they couldn't bring themselves to throw the yarn away. They were so happy to know that yarn their wives knitted with was going to be keeping sick kids warm this winter."

For that, the Aberboms want to say thank you.

And finally, the second annual YAMS -- Youth Against Multiple Sclerosis -- Spaghetti Dinner will be held Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Milken Community High School, 15800 Zeldins Way (at Mulholland Drive).

Ticket information and reservations can be made by calling Elissa Gysi at (310) 471-8946. YAMS is a dedicated organization of kids and parents who have raised more than $60,000 for MS research and public awareness education in the three years it's been in existence.

Dennis McCarthy's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.