Sunday, May 12, 2013

Highway or...

A decade ago, learning everything we know vaulted from the telly into our living rooms at night; now everything we know flashes, warp speedo, onto our personal electronic devices 24/7. And it's free! And it's the people's forum.

Thus, my friends, here are some Mother's day facts. From our pal,wiki, of course. In 1870-1880, Protestant schools observed holidays such as Children's Day (how thoughtful) Temperance Day (opps), Roll Call Sunday (more wiki), Decision Day (ditto) and Missionary Day (whaaat). Anna Jarvis, considered the 'mother' of MD, along with a Philly merchant, John Wanamaker established the first official recognized day May, 1908 in Wanamaker's auditorium to honor her deceased mother.
White carnations, 500 of them rolled out that Sunday by Anna Jarvis, symbolize the day.

Raised in a strict traditional way, my mother as a parent did not fall far from her hard ass father's tree. She was always the bad cop in our home. I once called her a 'tiger' which upset her, and my father laid the wood that night. Our various residences reflected her meticulous order. Of all my aunts, my mother was wonderful in the kitchen. Where she belonged? Uh, not really. For decades, my siblings and I were shits. Our lifestyles, our choices, were confusing. She never understood them, and never capitulated. It was her way, or the highway. When she died, we found a cardboard box, containing birthday cards, mother's day cards and other holiday memorabilia sent from various way stations over the decades by her wandering children. Never expressive emotionally (she would have dropped on a sword rather than admit she was wrong), that dusty box, a nugget in a grove of palm trees, articulated the words she could never say.

Remember your mother, and while you're at it, remember that:

Every Sunday: dessert and deliciousness abides with Mad Men, and GOThones.


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Spanning the Globe

1. May 1st is International Worker's Day, a holiday in approximately 80 countries around the world. Our frame of reference here is Labor Day, but in various establishments throughout this nation today, in solidarity with their sisters and brethren across the continents, various elements of the work force shut it down. I was reminded of this when friends of mine tried to buy a pizza and discovered the bakery was dark; a note taped neatly to the door: May Day. 'Commies,' my friends muttered and wandered off to debate what's for dinner. For some of us though, May 1st was not a contemplation of the fields of labor, but rather the plucking of plumerias from a neighbor's tree, stringing them into garlands of fragrant leis for 'May day, or Lei day; a celebration of the island culture, the land, and it's native Hawaiians.

2. The flood gates are open. Jason Collins let the dogs out, and the whole world is watching now. The Boy scouts just gulped. Whither the NFL? Is it ripe for the plucking? The sensational revelation, confession, of his gender preference, dropped Jason Collins onto the cover of Sports Illustrated. Which professional athlete will step through the door next? And when will this personal statistic stop being news?

3. A tip of the cap to the citizens of Boston and it's surrounding boroughs. There is an esprit de corps, a steadfastness that we,who reside in the West, admire; to the inhabitants of the right coast, drinks on the house to your resilience.

4. The grandest 2 minutes in sports this Saturday. The Kentucky Derby. If it's raining in Louisville, a long shot. You can never bet too much on a winning horse. Some wise old man once told me that.

5. Sunday. Cinco de Mayo. Happy Birthday, Alex.