Back to Your Cave, Mama Bear

Yesterday I read a story about a B-52 bomber that lost an engine in rural North Dakota.  Nobody was hurt, and no property was damaged.  The B-52 was based in Minot, ND.  It so happens that a high school friend of mine has two sons, both of whom are in the Air Force, stationed at Minot.  When I saw the original story, I seized an opportunity to have a little good-natured fun at the boys' expense.  I logged on to Facebook, posted the article on my page, and essentially said that it looked like the boys had their first run at jet engine maintenance and repair.  (This, by the was patently not true.  One is an MP, and the other is a Parachute Rigger.)


Within an hour, there was a comment from the boys' mother saying "Not Funny."  I took a brief moment to sarcastically apologize to their mom, who apparently appointed herself as the supreme arbiter of all things funny.  She didn't reply, but I think that I've got a bit more to say to her, so here goes...

-Ummm, yeah, it is funny, so shut the fuck up.

-I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your boys, so shut the fuck up.

-Your boys are no longer children.  They are grown men.  So, unless you want them to be emasculated boy-men, you should -- you got it -- shut the fuck up.

-Having never been a male (unless there's something I don't know), you will never, ever understand that men bond by insulting each other.  Therefore, you should just let the men have their fun.  This, of course require you to -- yep -- shut the fuck up.

-You've also never served in the military.  I, on the other hand, spent six years in the United States Marine Corps.  I have spent a lot of time giving your boys some good-natured ribbing over their decision to join the Air Force instead of the USMC.  That's what military veterans do.  My original smart-assed comment was as much about a US Marine teasing a flyboy as it was about one man teasing another.  Since you don't know what's what, I would like to once again suggest that you shut the fuck up and let the big boys play.

It kind of chaps my hide when people place themselves into conversations to which they were not a party.  That's what happened here.  I was talking to, and making fun of the boys.  Next thing I knew, mom was throwing out her comments, getting all offended on the kids' behalf.  Ummm... I know these kids... these men.  And they know me well enough to know that I was not being serious.

Don't get me wrong... I get the whole mama bear instinct.  I understand the innate desire to protect your young.  I'm a parent.  Hell, I'm a grandparent.   But there comes a time and a place for mama bear to acknowledge that the cubs are grown, and return to the cave.