Left of the Dial

Like Foul-Mouth, Like Son

So. It will not come as news to anyone who's spent more than a few minutes around me, sans children, that verbally I tend to, well...get a bit carried away. I know, and yet. I've had drunken sailors say to me, "dude, really?" 

So early this morn, before 7am, all the girls are still asleep. Top Management and I are the only ones up, along with The Dudes. We both become gradually aware that The Boy is walking around saying, "Gammid...gammid...gammid..." 

A quick note: since The Boy has hearing loss, the world sorta sounds to him like Charlie Brown's teacher, just a string of vowel sounds rising and falling. So when he speaks, he often takes his best guess at roughly which consonant sound goes where. Hence "gammid." This also makes me, perhaps foolishly, feel a tad freer about how vigilant I need to be around him. Also hence "gammid."

"He's saying it again," Top Management sighs. "You have to stop saying that around him!" 

I say, "I haven't! I mean, not today. And not last night." 

I stop and think for a moment, then walk into the kitchen. Where I see The Baby on his belly. Having ripped open and enthusiastically dissecting a Reese's mini peanut butter cup that's fallen from someone's Halloween stash. 

The Boy walks over and stands next to me and looks down at The Baby, happily covered in chocolate and peanut butter goodness, then looks up and me and shakes his head. "Gammid," he says affectionately, smiling companionably as he reaches over and takes my hand. 

What's That Name Now?

So now I wanna watch a bunch of these. 

Others...not so much. 

In Memoriam

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan:

David R. Baker, 22, of Painesville, Ohio; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Baker was killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near him while he was on foot patrol in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Kyle A. Coumas, 22, of Lockeford, Calif., southeast of Sacramento; specialist, Army. Coumas was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Michael A. Dahl Jr., 23, of Moreno Valley; specialist, Army. Dahl was killed Oct. 17 when a car bomb was detonated near his vehicle in Arghandab in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Bradley Espinoza, 26, of Mission, Texas; staff sergeant, Army. Espinoza was killed Monday while attempting to disarm a makeshift bomb when it exploded in Q-West, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Jesus O. Flores Jr., 28, of La Mirada, Calif.; specialist, Army. Flores was among four soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Anthony G. Green, 28, of Matthews, N.C.; specialist, Army National Guard. Green was one of two guardsmen killed Oct. 16 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in central Afghanistan's Wardak province, west of Kabul. He was assigned to the 143rd Infantry Detachment in Austin, Texas.

Daniel C. Lawson, 33, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; specialist, Army. Lawson was among four soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Daniel J. Rivera, 22, of Rochester, N.Y.; private first class, Army. Rivera was killed Oct. 18 in a motor vehicle accident in Mosul, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Chris N. Staats, 32, of Fredericksburg, Texas; staff sergeant, Army. Staats was one of two guardsmen killed Oct. 16 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in central Afghanistan's Wardak province, west of Kabul. He was assigned to the 143rd Infantry Detachment in Austin, Texas.

Glen H. Stivison Jr., 34, of Blairsville, Pa.; staff sergeant, Army. Stivison was among four soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Brandon M. Styer, 19, of Lancaster, Pa.; private first class, Army. Styer was among four soldiers killed Oct. 15 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Carson, Colo.