Global Esports Mom

Hanging with the “most awesome” guys at “The Totally Excellent Weekend” ⁦@WSDMGG⁩ ⁦@mallofamerica⁩ ⁦@CorelliTV⁩ ⁦@GoJamesbotGo⁩ ⁦@WavePunk⁩ ⁦@Rizzo_TV⁩ ⁦@iDazerin⁩ ❤️

The South Lawn of the White House fell silent. Cameras turned. Marines stood at attention. And a helicopter touched down — piloted by a woman who had already done the impossible, twice. Her name is Jennifer L. Grieves. She grew up in Alameda, California, with no military family background, no connections, and no roadmap. She enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1990, driven by one simple desire: to belong to something she could be proud of. She had no idea she was about to make history. Before anyone handed her that honor, she had to earn it the hard way. She flew CH-53E Super Stallions — massive, powerful military helicopters — into some of the most dangerous airspace on earth. She deployed aboard the USS Iwo Jima, flying in Operation Iraqi Freedom when the outcome of that war was still very much uncertain. She flew in Liberia during a humanitarian crisis. She served in Djibouti, Africa, teaching younger pilots how to survive nighttime combat missions. Dust. Heat. Enemy fire. No guarantees. She kept flying. Her record earned her a Combat Action Ribbon, three Meritorious Service Medals, and multiple Air Medals — decorations that don't come from showing up. They come from performing under extreme pressure, repeatedly, without breaking. Then came the moment that changed everything. In May 2008, her commanding officer selected her as one of only five pilots in the entire Marine Corps authorized to fly the President of the United States. She was the first woman ever chosen for that role. No fanfare. No announcement. Just a quiet selection — and an enormous responsibility. For the next fourteen months, she flew President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama across the country and around the world. Seven countries. Dozens of missions. The South Lawn of the White House, where a mistake in front of every camera in America was never an option. She never made one. Then came her final flight. July 16, 2009. Something remarkable had been quietly planned for weeks. Marines volunteered from their days off just to be part of it. Officers advocated for it. And when it was approved, it became something no one in Marine Corps history had ever seen. Jennifer Grieves lifted off from the South Lawn of the White House with an all-female crew for the very first time in history. President Obama boarded, landed at Andrews Air Force Base, then walked to the front of the aircraft. He looked at Grieves and her crew. He told them how proud he was. Then he placed one of his personal presidential coins in her hand. "He said he'd always felt like he was in good hands with all of us," she later recalled. She wasn't doing it for recognition. She never was. "It's not really about being a female," she once said. "It's about being a Marine." But for every woman who flies a military helicopter today — every young girl who sees herself in the cockpit now — it was very much about being a female, too. Because Jennifer Grieves proved what was possible before most people thought to ask the question. She served presidents. She served Marines in combat. She served her country across three decades. And she did it all with the quiet confidence of someone who simply refused to accept that history had already been written. She was still writing it.

Six weeks after September 11, 2001, twelve American soldiers were quietly loaded onto a helicopter in Uzbekistan and flown over the Hindu Kush mountains in the dead of night. No tanks. No armored vehicles. No air support waiting on the ground. Just twelve Green Berets, over a hundred pounds of gear each, and a mission that their own commanders privately doubted any of them would survive. They landed in a remote Afghan village called Dehi, in the pitch black, surrounded by a country they barely had maps for. And then someone handed them horses. Not metaphorically. Actual horses — Afghan stallions, tough as nails and famously difficult to control. Wooden saddles covered in carpet scraps. Stirrups so short their knees rode up around their ears. Captain Mark Nutsch, who'd grown up on a cattle ranch in Kansas and competed in collegiate rodeos, became trail boss on the spot. For the other ten men on his team — Operational Detachment Alpha 595 of the 5th Special Forces Group — the learning curve was immediate and unforgiving. The first words one of his sergeants learned in Dari were: "How do you make him stop?" They had linked up with General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a Northern Alliance warlord who controlled thousands of fighters and knew this territory like the back of his hand. The deal was simple: the Americans would call in precision airstrikes from horseback. Dostum's cavalry would do the charging. Together, they would take Mazar-i-Sharif — a Taliban stronghold of 250,000 people — and crack open northern Afghanistan. Military planners had estimated it would take two years. Task Force Dagger gave ODA 595 three weeks. For 23 days of nearly continuous combat, the Horse Soldiers lived like men from a different century. They ate what the Afghans ate. They slept on the ground in freezing mountain passes. They rode trails so narrow and sheer that one wrong step meant a thousand-foot drop. Staff Sergeant Will Summers started the mission at 185 pounds. He left Afghanistan five weeks later weighing 143. The Taliban had tanks. Soviet-era armor, antiaircraft guns, fortified positions dug into the mountains. Against this, twelve Americans on horseback radioed coordinates to aircraft circling invisibly above, and watched the positions erupt. On November 9, 2001, they rode into the kind of moment that people are not supposed to experience in the modern world. Nutsch and his team joined hundreds of Dostum's horsemen in a thundering cavalry charge across an open plain — directly into entrenched Taliban lines. Under fire. At a gallop. Calling in close air support between strides. It was the first cavalry charge of the 21st century. It was also the last. The next day, Mazar-i-Sharif fell. The Taliban's northern stronghold collapsed. Within weeks, the regime itself began to unravel — a domino effect that started with twelve men and borrowed horses in the mountains. All twelve of them came home. Zero American fatalities. Against a fortified enemy that outnumbered and outgunned them at every turn. Today, across from Ground Zero in New York City, there is a bronze statue — sixteen feet tall — of a Special Forces soldier on horseback, rifle across his lap, looking west. It honors ODA 595 and the teams who rode with them. Most Americans walk past it every day without knowing the story. Now you do.

Last week in Baltimore, Uber charged me $85 for a trip that usually costs $20. So today, I called Lyft and was picked up by a guy named Mike. He was driving a red F-150, clearly a work truck, full of tools and lumber... I sat up front. “How far to the airport,” I asked. “Fifteen minutes,” he said. “You in a hurry?” “Not really,” I said. “Are you?” “Never.” As we merged onto the road and settled into the slow lane, I asked Mike if he was a carpenter in real life. “Among other things,” he said. “Jack of all trades?” “Well, I don’t know about that,” he said. A while ago, I was a plumber’s helper. Then I worked in the heating and air condition game.” “How was that?,” I asked. “Hot and cold,” he said. I couldn’t tell if he was making a joke or not. His voice had a midwestern drawl with no expression on his face. “After that, I started carpentry. Trim, then framing." “You retired now? “No. I build campers these days.” “What kind of campers?” I asked. “I build them small ones you can tow most anywhere. They call ‘em teardrop trailers. I build ‘em by hand, one at a time.” “Yeah? How’s the quality,” I asked. “Pretty good,” he said. “Got a website?” I asked. “Sure,” he said. “What’s your website called?” I asked. “Mike’s Pretty Good Campers.” “Your company is called 'Mike’s Pretty Good Campers?'” “I like to manage expectations,” said Mike. "Under promise and over deliver?" "That's the idea," said Mike. "Is that what you were doing before you picked me up? Building a pretty good camper?” “Yup. But I was frustrated. I don’t work when I’m frustrated. So, every now and then I step away.” “And drive a stranger to the airport?” I said. “Never too frustrated to drive.” said Mike. “Driving relaxes me. Besides, we ain’t strangers no more, are we?” “No,” I said. “I suppose not.” As we turned on Airport Road, I said, “So what’s the plan? Wait for another call? Or head back to the shop?” “Ain’t decided yet. Guess I'll see how I feel in a few minutes.” “Good plan,” I said. “By the way, if I like your website, do you care if I share it on Facebook?” “Why do you want to do that?” he asked. “I’ve got a few people who follow me on social media. Maybe some want a pretty good camper, custom made by a quasi-retired carpenter who drives for Lyft when he's frustrated?” “Can’t hurt,” said Mike. “Once people see these things, they fall in love with ‘em. They got conventions all over the country for teardrop trailer owners. Thousands show up.” As we pulled up to the airport, Mike asked me what carrier I was on. “American,” I said. “Right here is fine.” “Pre-check?” he asked. “Yes,” I said. We pulled up to the curb. I hopped out, as Mike dragged my bags out of the bed of his truck. “You look familiar,” he said. “Have I driven you before?” “I don’t think so,” I said. “I would have remembered. Thanks for the lift.” “No problem,” he said. “Was the ride okay?” "Pretty Good" Source: Mike Rowe

🚨 Brazilian skate legend Sandro Dias just smashed the world record! Dropped in from 230 feet up, that’s like 22 stories high, on a wild temporary ramp in Brazil. Hit a blistering 64 mph.

Bruce Lee’s top skills… in action. Speed. Precision. Discipline. Every move had purpose. No wasted motion. He wasn’t just fast… he was surgical.

RIP young lady 💪💯🙏

🚨Pray for my son folks… please 🥹 He is in the 442 Fighter Wing. A/10 Thunderbolt II Fighters Please keep all of our sons and daughters in your prayers to the Almighty.

I'm a Delta guy but this could potentially change the industry if succesful

Yesterday marked the 8th anniversary of the ISIS terrorist killing of Colonel Arnaud Beltrame in France. He volunteered to exchange himself for a young female hostage held by a jihadist gunman at the Trèbes supermarket in Southern France. The jihadist slashed his throat before police stormed the building. He deliberately sacrificed his own life for a stranger. Hero of French and Western civilisation.

Oh he knows he’s fancy!!

WOW!! wat appears to be a "Praying Mantis-transforms into gorgeous flying flower" GOD IS TRULY GOOD!

She spent 29 years teaching others, and on her last day, they showed up to teach her how much she meant to them. A quiet goodbye turned into a room full of applause. 🥹❤️

Look how gently he meets the new baby. I never knew I wanted to see a horse meet a baby. He says that’s my future sneaker of treats and riding buddy, and I’ll just take the baby and babysit.

A group of generous Orthodox Jewish businessmen transformed a $25 million Gulfstream G550 into a flying hospital—giving patients access to life-saving care anywhere in the country or around the world. It’s called Hatzalah Air. And this is just one of 10 private jets in their fleet, all dedicated to transporting patients in need.

BREAKING - Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is receiving nationwide applause after stripping members of Congress of their special priority privileges in response to the Democrat led shutdown, calling it an “inexcusable” use of TSA agents as political chips.

Just because you're used to the desert doesn't mean you don't deserve the ocean.

She was crying for her mom and the mom hearing the roar came running. 🤗🤗🤗

Baby see his mama for the first time 🥹

Los campos de tulipanes de Amsterdam reciben así la primavera. Los Jardines Keukenhof, los más famosos de Países Bajos, florecen sólo ocho semanas al año, con millones de flores que forman una obra de arte.

World’s first recorded live adult black devil anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) spotted on the surface in broad daylight!! 😱