I Have A Retarded Brother. His Name Is Mike. Part Trois.

Today I found this old photo of me and My Retarded Brother, Mike. It made me think of him, so I decided to give ol' Mike a call and mess with him a little bit. It's one of my favorite pastimes.
Click to listen:

Messin' With Mike

Comments

[Jenni in KS]

Awww! That's a really sweet photo!

[Shauna]

Typical sibling. . .picking on the other. . .That's cute!

[brandib]

ummmm, I didn't win the jacket. Not cool Ree.

[crissy]

That was adorable.

[catalinakel]

Ree. You're a maniac. Be nice to your brother. He's retarded.

[Debs]

That is sooooo funny. Do you pee in the shower? ROFLMAO I wonder how many "normal" men would admit that they do? hum.......

[Pamela]

Ree I have a brother Mike, tooHe always used to tell me I WAS RETARDEDWe're best friends now, tho.Of course we're both old farts now... so we do that instead of burp

[Tiggerlane]

I have to wonder, how often do you have these conversations with Mike? He must be totally used to you by now!!You have a cool phone voice, btw. So deceptively sweet...until you burp.

[Ree]

Hi, Jenni, Shauna, Brandiosa and Crissy! :)Catalinakel, ha! I love a woman who'll use the word "retarded".Debs, we should do an informal poll here on the blog! Pamela, hahahaha. Well, you know I don't do THAT...so I wouldn't know what you're talking about.Tiggerlane, we talk like this all the time. I poke him and prod him and he just rolls his eyes. The funny part is, I'M the one acting retarded and he's the normal, reasonable one. :)

[wetsy]

You are a Damn.

[Brooke]

Ree~ This is random I know....but you've got to vote on the Oklahoma quarter. Go to http://services.ok.gov/governor/ then to finalist selection. There are 4 with the Pinoeer Woman on it. I thought you might like to have a say in which one is picked since you are a Pioneer Woman yourself. Yes, I voted too. :)Take Care~ Brooke (PC girl)

[Karmyn R]

Your poor brother - having to deal with you.Can you burp your ABC's?

[Anonymous]

Reminded me of the time we put make up on Mike in the middle of the night.I am laughing so hard the tears are rolling down my cheeks.Tell Deebo hi! Shama

[Swampwitch]

I loved hearing Mike's voice...reminds me of when he sees me at the club and says, "Your LA's mom aren't you?...she's so pretty...but your pretty, too.Wish the world was more LIKE MIKE.Ree: Do you pee in the shower?

[Ree]

Brooke, what a fun idea. Thanks for the link...I'm voting.Karmyn r, yes! As a matter of fact, I can. I'm going to wait awhile before I post it, though. I'm not ready to say goodbye to you all yet.Shama, oh, if only we'd taken pics.Swampwitch, I don't have to answer that.

[Girl con Queso]

This picture is amazing. I love your blog. I'm so glad you stopped by mine so I could find yours. Thanks.

[willowtree]

Hey what's the big deal? In the words of the great George Costanza when he was caught peeing in the shower at the gym "Pipes are pipes".

[cecedon]

That's a great picture. Sounds like your brother and you have a pretty great relationship. So who's bed are you on? Funny that you'd be hanging on a bed with a big old horse on it and then end up the pioneer woman so many years later. Maybe the sheets had something to do with your destiny??

[Ree]

Girl Con Queso...howdy! :)WT...you may not believe this, but there is a huge divide among humans in terms of who will and who won't. Poll your friends; you'd be surprised.Cecedon...I got goosebumps reading your comment b/c I had that exact thought when I looked at the photo last night! I always knew it was fate that brought me here....:)

[Pam]

Okay, I love that you call your brother retarded. I mean, oh shoot. Let me start over. My sister is retarded. Mental age...~4-5 yrs. I call her retarded because...that's the name I grew up with. Not mentally challenged or mentally handicapped or mentally disabled. People are always shocked that I call her retarded. They think I'm teasing or kidding. So, my first thought when I read your post was you were being funny. Teasing, kidding.Then I listened to your phone calls. And at first I thought you were being funny, teasing, kidding. Until I got to the end. Now I don't know. I'm all stressed out about this. Is he all the things I mentioned? (Insert whichever name you like) I mean, I'm not passing judgement, I just want to be sure and get off this fence. I don't like sitting here, it hurts my ass.And I just gotta tell ya, I have been telling everyone I know about juice bag boy. And ROTFL too. God love 'em. He looks so much like your hubby. Its the eyes. And I see in your video why you fell for the boy. Holy sh*t woman. He so loves you...it's all in his eyes.And, I loved your video. I don't care for most C&W. I love Patsy and Loretta. I like Western music (Sons of the Pioneers, Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, Joni Harms, and Sons of the San Joaquin etc)But this song was a lot of fun. You are a sassy gal...I could put you in my pocket and take you every where!♥Pam

[Pam]

Okay...d'uh. I went back and saw the link on Mike's name. *smack's forehead* Yup...as the blood relative...you and I both can call 'em retarded and get away with it!! Well, I can call my sis retarded and you can call Mike retarded...I don't know if we know each well enough to call each other's sibling..retarded. Whaddya think?♥Pam

[Ree]

Pam, you are so funny! I'm giggling reading your comments. I have to admit, I sometimes like using the "r" word just to watch people squirm. Sometimes when I'm feeling particularly ornery, if someone in a conversation casually says, "retard" or "retarded", I put on a dejected face and say, "Um, my brother is retarded. I don't appreciate that."I can usually last about 3.2 seconds through the look of terror on their face before I burst out laughing.Anyway, you made me smile this morning. And yeah, I think the "r" word is probably best reserved for one's own sibling. :)

[Robin]

GLAD you posted the other link since I'm just getting to "know ya" these days. Otherwise, it was a quick double take of "What??!". I wonder if Mike ever thinks he has a retarded sister? We have a nephew with Downs, and I'm glad my children have a cousin who can teach 'em more than we could ever tell 'em. Retarded is fine, but can you believe the term "mongoloid" was ever used??

[Ree]

Oh, I know! What a word THAT was. And I understand in England, they refer to epileptics as "spazzes" (I think), so when Tiger Woods said he "spazzed out" on the putting green at the Masters, the English press lambasted him...But Mongoloid is...not a great word.And you know, my children just know him as "Uncle Mike". I don't think it occurs to them that anything is "wrong". I couldn't ask for more than that!

[stephanie]

My younger sister is retarded. When I tell people that, they laugh. I'm like, "Um. Seriously. She is retarded. She is mentally functioning at the level of a 6 or 7 year old."My dad's in denial still...sorry, that's a downer. Let's just say it's been a long, hard road.ANYWAY, I like reading stories from people like you have been dealing with it, postively, and I like reading stories from people like Pam, too.Thanks.

[Crankmama]

Aren't crazy brothers soooo fun! I have 2 mormon ones so they are even more fun to tease than your average jo. Love that picture!

[wds]

Mongoloid was derived from the similarity of Down's childrens' facial appearance to Asians, i.e. Mongolia. Kind of like Native Americans looked like people from India so they were called Indians. Kind of like African Americans were called colored because they had a different colored skin. I guess you could consider the words horrific, but actually those are kind of harmless when you think about the actual damage that was done by people rather than the words. Now, can we depict the pain that rednecks must suffer when they are called that derogatory term?Ree, every male pees in the shower... its kind of like masturbating... some choose to admit it, some don't...Just listened to the audio clip... LMAO.

[Martha]

You are one out there chick and I love it! It makes me so happy to check in with you and have good belly laugh. Thank you! But Mike's right....GROSS!

Hm

So you phone your brother, get him to talk in a way that will likely cause people to laugh at him (not with him), record him, broadcast it to the whole world, and you think it's funny and your fans regard it as cute?

It doesn't sound to me as if your brother has sufficient self-awareness to know that he is being 'sent up', and as a result he can't possibly imagine the cruelty that he is suffering at the hands of someone he loves (and that he thinks loves him).

Let me guess - you're a Republican, right?

How disappointing - you're brave enough to poke fun at your handicapped brother but not brave enough to leave comments on display here that express disapproval

[G.B.]

Yep, that is pretty lame. Mean, even.

[james]

Um......thats kinda sick.
its people like you who make the world a crueler place to live in.
Maybe u got bullied at skewl for being a freak or sumthing so now you find an urge to pick on some one who can't defend them selfs.

Sad Sad Person.

I understand it must be boring living in the middle of no where, but to call your retarded brother and get him to repeat back your totally inate and superficial needs about "how you're the most beautiful woman in the world..." is absolutely disgusting. You literally sound like a bitchy 13 year old girl calling the dorky kid in class to make fun of him. Shame on you to do this to a member of your family, much less anyone. The person above me called it dead on, just another ignorant yet complacent Republican.

[TransplantedOkie]

Sounds like some folks have their panties in a wad.

My sister loves it when I burp the Pledge of Allegiance!

[j.]

OH MY GOSH! YOU LIBERAL DING BATS! Get over yourselves and get off Ree's site if you can't lighten up.

Glad to see those "I-am-so-offended" police have not kept you from keepin' it real Ree.

[mom not mum]

What I love is that this has been here a year and you still have people making comments and complaining. LOL

It's too bad that some people take this so seriously...she isn't posting it to ridicule him, she's having fun with her brother. I think the only people here who would laugh AT him are the ones who complain. I thought it was cute and shows she can at least have fun WITH her brother (not at his expense) instead of getting all uptight about it

[Connie]

do you think i'm the most beautiful girl you've ever known?? lol thats so funny!! :D

youre brother -- "I know im cute!!"

aww, sweet moments. i do this all the time with my brother!! why does it automatically become insulting if you have a retarded sibling...? and WHAT does politics have anything to do with this? HAVE FUN WITH MIKE

[foolery]

The only thing I found offensive on this whole page is the application of a random, unrelated, completely inappropriate label (Republican, Democrat, Dog Lover, Faith Healer, Chronic Complainer -- take your pick). And that came from the commenters. Funny, huh?

[Carolina]

O.k. That was funny! I'm a Republican, just to let you know. I know a boy who is retarded, and he is just like every one else, he just can't say what he wants to and can't think as well as everyone else. Well blah to you guys who just think that Ree's behavior is bad. Blah. Just blah. She's just messin' with her brother and treating him like a normal person. She's not being DISCRIMINATORY. Just sayin'.

[Kelli]

Shame on you!! I think being way out there in the country has gone to your head,lol

PS:I have a retarded brother too

[delphine]

teehee I ask brother questions like "Do think I'm pretty?" etc. all the time. Besides you can totally hear in Mike's voice that he is just going along with you people with disabilities are underestimated all the time.

[LibChicAZ]

Whoever labeled you a Republican is nothing but a Stick Up The Butt who is giving the rest of us Liberals a bad name.

I don't know who you vote for and don't care - love abounds in these posts about your brother.

[Jgirl]

*snickers* This is ridiculous.

[Winnie]

Why would you call your brother 'retarded'. thats just so demoralizing and insensitive, Its 'developmentally disabled'....I'm truly disappointed that you would talk like that about your brother.

[Lisa]

I have to keep it real and voice my opinion on your use of the word 'retarded" to decribe your brother. First off I was enjoying your website very much. I love all the pic's and you do have a wonderful sense of humor. I was happily reading through the site when I hit a massive personal road block. I have to admit I was stunned when I got to the bio part where you tell us you have a "retarded brother, Mike". I read all the comments and as much as I want to be ok with the use of that word, I just can't. I guess for some of us, especially those of us with mentally handicapped siblings this word jolts us to the core and sparks those protective instincts we've had growing up with someone like this. I guess if I hadn't had to hear my sister referred to in this way jokingly by very mean and ignorant children and adults than I wouldn't take such offense. I do believe that words can hurt much more than sticks and stones and this one word just does that for me. Funny thing is though, I'm layed back about so many things in this uptight world but I haven't read a comment or heard someone else's opinion on this that would change mine. I'll still continue to peruse your website and your cinnamon bunn recipe looks amazing but I just wanted to share my side of the fence on this one.
Take Care,
L

[NightPixie]

Ree, I stumbled across your site tonight, and, like so many others, I've been reading for hours. Personally, I'm 50, a Democrat and I found your audio clip with Mike endearing. I don't know what I'd do if my siblings and I stopped f...er...messing with each other's heads. (if anyone ELSE ever said ANY of that to us, we'd chew 'em up and spit 'em out) In our family, it's not only a privelege, but an obligation :) Just ask my kids (wait till yours get old enough to really mess with 'em...it's SOOOO much fun).

BTW, the use of the phrase 'you retard' is insulting because it is MEANT TO BE, but the use of the word retarded is absolutely correct. Mike's growth, for whatever reason, was retarded. Look it up, folks. It is an accurate, clinical term, as are the words idiot, moron and imbecile. That common usage and society had interpreted them in a new way, doesn't change the fact that, at one time, they were diagnostic terms.

Words are cool things, look them up sometime. Oh, before it meant 'amusing', humorus meant 'cranky'. I can see that some of you do still adhere to the use of archaic words, at least in practice.

Ree, keep doing what you're doing...living and loving life!

[Dee]

"Keeping it real" doesn't mean offending the brother, retarded or otherwise. You show a lack of respect and childness in most you do on your site. Very sad. I think you should grow up and act your age.

The other thing I don't understand is if its been more than 12 years since you've lived this life, why do you constantly talk about the life you lead before this? It seems as though you want to distance yourself from your "prairie woman" life, as though you're embarassed or you think you are above it. To be honest, I feel sorry for the people in your life. I wouldn't want someone like you around who couldn't just embrace it and live it rather than holding yourself above it all. Very sad. I know you won't understand what I'm saying but maybe with maturity, if you ever get there, you will someday.

[Kirst]

Dee, if you really think that she has not embraced her current life then you have not spent enough time on this website. I for one think that her retelling of past experiences is especially interesting because it is such a contrast as to how her life is now. As far as her treatment of her brother goes--I find it endearing that she messes with him and treats him exactly like she would a "normal" sibling. I have enjoyed myself immensely and have probably spent way too much time myself on this blog. Thank you Ree!

[LauriKorny]

I find all these comments extremely fascinating and interpretation of Ree's life even more fascinating. I'm sure over the years, Ree and her brother have been goofin' like this, so it's natural. The up-tighties should relax, yo!

[Kathy]

Ree, after perusing your site,someone told me you and I were kindred spirits. lol (My sister) Umm, after reading it myself, I would agree with her. I think you are hilarious, gorgeous, uninhibited, verrry smart, and a shining crown for your husband. Now, for those who think your "retarded" remarks infelicitous, I have to say "retarded" is a word we all grew up with and no one considered it to be egregious. If you pick on Ree, you'll have to pick on me, 'cause I see nothing wrong with the word. I could just see Mike rolling his eyes and patronizingly answering your questions. lol You are probably the light of his life. As for James Garner, GIRL, was it a long kiss or just a peck on the cheek? I have to know....he's been my Maverick for years and I'm a jealous woman.

[~Sheri~]

So is it bad to pee in the shower? If so, I better remember to deny it if anyone ever asks!

[Jana]

The uptight remarks on this page are actually funnier than Ree's call w/Mike!

Relax, people.

Oh, and yes, I'm a Republican.

[Alyssa]

lol, your phone conversation with your brother is funny :-) I think the people jumping on Ree need to lighten up. They make liberals, like myself, look like idiots and this coming from someone who gets really defensive over mental illness stereotypes and such.

[That Girl]

How old are you anyway??? hee hee!! This was so funny. My Mom's driven a special needs bus (as the city's come to call it) for ages and now my dad is her assistant and they play around with the kids all the time. They're just fun people - they're real & really fun to be around, obviously.
Signed,
That Girl,
Mean conservative

[Cheryl in OR.]

HEY...I want a retarted brother,Mike sounds AWSOM !!!!