Getting Militant Again

I have been fired up this last week. First gay rights, now a woman's right to choose is in the headlines. I wrote about my feelings on my other blog. Check it out!

My Brother Bill's Visit, The Details

Because I know you can't sleep at night until you know how the visit with my brother went. Bill just got back from Iraq and drove up here from San Diego with his beautiful wife Ari.



My oldest, Michael, loves Uncle Bill, but Bekah is all about Aunt Ari.



That's the living roof at The California Academy of Sciences. We had a field trip there last Thursday. My Dad and awesome step-mom came along as well. My poor husband had to work though. That's what happens when you own your own business. We did see the guy who gave my husband a vasectomy, his wife, and all 4 of their kids. That's what happens when you are an urologist and your wife is a dentist. You get to take all 4 of your kids to the a museum on a Thursday. I am not bitter, I just wish my husband could have been there.

Aunt Ari loves me even if I take off my pants and scratch my mother's face hard enough to draw blood.

Jake gets jealous if I show attention to anyone but him. Did I mention that he scratched my face hard enough to draw blood? Little a-hole. We were having lunch at the museum and he decided to throw a classic 2 year old tantrum. Don't worry my tetanus is up to date.

Bill asked Michael to help carry his back-pack out to his car. Michael said, "No, because that means you will be leaving faster.". When Bill and Ari drove away Michael turned to me and said, "I'm sad.". I hugged him and said, " I am too.".

Captain Rescued from Pirates

Ever since I wrote the post last week about shy pirates I have been kind of nervous. I didn't realize the Captain of the ship was going to let the pirates take him as ransom! I didn't want people to think I was an asshole for making light of a hostage situation. But now thankfully some studly Navy Seals came and shot up three of the pirates and freed the Captain. Phew.




And of course since everything is all about me, I started thinking about my brother and how proud of him that he is a Navy Seal. Even though he had absolutely nothing to do with this rescue mission, and was probably surfing all weekend in San Diego. I am just super excited because Bill, and his wife Ari, are going to come visit in about a week and I can't stop thinking about him.





My brother Bill just got back from Iraq less than 2 weeks ago, but he did a stint as a Navy Seal Instructor awhile back. The book pictured below is about the training process it takes to make a Navy Seal. I could go upstairs and scan pictures of my brother from this book but that would entail dragging my ass off my couch, walking upstairs, turning on my upstairs computer, turning on the scanner, getting the book off the bookshelf..................I am entirely too lazy to do that.

I think this image below is from this book but I can't remember. That dude standing in the surf is a Seal instructor, but he's not my brother. My brother left a shirt like that guy is wearing at my house and now I wear it as a pajama top. My brother is always leaving stuff here when he visits, and for somebody who is in special ops., that doesn't seem to be a very stealth thing to do.











I actually googled my brother looking for images of just him. I know he has done a couple of commercials for the Navy because my husband and I actually saw one while watching t.v. Erik paused the commercial and said, "Holy shit that's Bill!". And it was! My brother just kind of forgot to tell us he had filmed a couple of commercials. Today I couldn't find those ads but I did find two articles quoting my brother. The first article was about a Surf Competition that benefits a charity for the widows of special operations servicemembers. Another article was about the San Diego Chargers visiting the Buds training facilities (that's what they call Seals before they graduate). My bro is a huge football fan so I am not at all surprised he was present, and quoted, when the Chargers came to visit.

For all my lady friends who think my brother is hot, I promise to take lots of pictures of him when he visits.

Iraq- My Brother

My brother is back from Iraq! I am so happy. Over everyone, even my husband, he knows me. He knows where I come from. He knows what drives me. If I flinch, raise an eyebrow, sneer, clench my fists, purse my lips, drop my shoulders and hang my head.........he knows what it means. He can make me laugh until I cry, and use the word "Dude" way more than a 38 year old woman should. He says I am meaner than any drill sargent he has ever met and sweeter than most women.

Phew, and he made it back alive. Bill came back late last week but I gave him space to hang out with his woman before I called and demanded his attention.

So I talked to him tonight and asked how he was. Fine. How was Iraq?, " Well you know some of the citizens were dumb as a box of rocks but they were just doing their own thing. So you know, different strokes for different folks. ". Cool. Then Bill said, "But you know there were others and you need to keep this to yourself.".

Sigh...........ok fine. The really cool stories will stay with me, close to the chest.

The only stories I have to share, are something that everyone can agree on:

1) If your fingerprints are on a bomb, that if blown up will hurt people of all color, creed and gender, then you deserve to have the shit beaten out of you.

2) If you use an infant to try to deflect bullets from you, then after this infant is gently extricated from your hands, you deserve to have the shit beaten out of you.

Do you dare disagree with that?

Slain Oakland Police Officers

I was driving my youngest to Lafayette this morning for his Jewish monkey playgroup. As I was cruising on North 680 I noticed 2 firetrucks on the overpass with firemen standing at attention. That's curious. Then I saw it again on the next overpass. I quickly learned from listening to the news on KGO radio that the local fire stations had dispatched their trucks and firefighters to these overpasses to pay tribute to the 4 Oakland police officers that were murdered last weekend. Sigh.

I started off this morning so happy thinking of my brother, now home from Iraq, safe and sound. Seeing those firetrucks and then the funeral procession leaving Danville, where one of the officer's family lives, I got teary-eyed. I grabbed a clean diaper off the floor of my van and dabbed my eyes so I wouldn't have to pull over.

How sickening, how completely unfair, what a waste. Not a total waste because one of the officers, John Hege, did donate organs and tissue, saving the lives of 4 other men.

In situations like this I would also feel sad for the family of the murderer, because they also lost a son. Uhm, no. Lovelle Mixon's family is pointing fingers at their brother's parole officer who allegedly missed appointments with his client. So it's the parole officer's fault Mixon shot and killed 4 police officers with a semi-automatic weapon? These people are scum.


Even more shocking than blaming a parole officer for a criminal's behavior is that some residents of Oakland are labeling the murder of these officers, vengence for the murder of Oscar Grant. I will tell you right now that when that BART officer shot Oscar Grant, a handcuffed black man laying on his stomach, he committed a crime. Nothing in his police training would have ever taught him to do that. I am not sure if it was evil, but it was stupid, careless and criminally negligent. But to tie-in that tragic incident with this new tragic incident ,and to somehow make Lovelle Mixon a hero for avenging the death of Oscar Grant is despicable!


Lovelle Mixon was not just a guy who didn't pay his speeding tickets. He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon and he had just been tied, by DNA evidence, to the rape of a 12 year old girl. Disgusting.

I really hope this horrible event brings the good people of Oakland together to promote positive change. I really hope my brother does not have to go back to Iraq. I really hope that the next time I see a bunch of tall, gorgeous, firefighters standing on a freeway overpass, they all have their shirts off.

An American Bar In Iraq

So my younger brother Bill is in Iraq. Weird place for a Navy Seal since there isn't a lot of ocean in the desert, but Seals are good for other stuff too. I was talking to him this evening on Facebook, using instant messaging. I actually talk to him more now than I did when he was in San Diego because when he is at home in his spare time he is surfing or hanging out with his wife. Now that he is bored in his spare time he talks to basically any family or friends on Facebook. He also called me on my cell phone and it sounded like he was in California, it was amazing! He told me everything is monitored so basically the phone calls consist of me talking about the kids.

This evening he did say that him and his buddies are building a bar and would like bar decorations. I made some joke about building a matching still and making potato wine, which he promptly ignored, making me slap my forehead remembering that he has told me countless times everything is monitored, Duh! Anyways I do want to help our men in uniform by sending them bar decorations.

I asked my husband if he would like to donate his dogs playing poker tapestry he got in Tiajuana while at UCSD but he actually got sad and said only if Bill promises to bring it back. OMG, of course I am not going to ask Bill to bring that back from Iraq! Men get so goofy and sentimental about that shit, I knew better than to ask about the framed velvet painting of the monkey poker dealer. So I said fine then I am buying Bill a neon sign and Erik said fine.



My brother's name is Bill, when you get a chance, please say a prayer. And I don't care who you pray to, it could be G-d, Buddha, Jesus or your garden gnome just say, "Please let Charlotte's brother Bill come home intact.".
Below is a pic of Bill with my first born. They are clones. Bill has passed out watching Transformers with his first nephew.

This is Bill's beautiful wife Ari with a squirmy Bekah, Dec. 2007

This is Bill with Jake after Jake has obviously eaten a dinner of sweet potatoes and carrots. I am guessing since he looks a little orange. Dec. 2007

My Brother's Visit Before Going to Iraq

Ok so I apologize to anyone who has already seen this picture which is pretty much everyone in the United States. I have recently lost 25 pounds and then you stick me in between my 2 cute, "little" brothers and I am going to make you look whether you like it or not. The whole beard thing was a weird coincedence. Brandon's was for fun, Bill was instructed to grow facial hair cause Iraqi men take hairy men more seriously. And I just had mine waxed off.

These 2 are kindred spirits. My brother Bill is the only other human who can tire out my 4 year old Michael. They are clones right down to the cowlick in their hair.

This is why my brother needs to come back from Iraq alive. This is a picture of Bill and my oldest son Michael and see how natural it is for them to cuddle together. They love each other so much and I love the both of them so much.

My Brother's Visit Before Going to Iraq

So here is a portion of my awesome family. From left to right: my mom Louise, my youngest brother Brandon, my husband Erik holding our youngest Jake, me holding my gorgeous daughter Bekah, my younger brother Bill holding my oldest son Michael who is holding a football over his face, Bill's wife Ari, my dad Rankin, and my step-mom Cherie.