My Hero

(Click image above to enlarge)

My Mom was very fond of newspaper clippings, magazine ads, and blurbs from the local paper. Sometimes she would toss in a "bonus" alongside one of her notes . . . usually it was an inspirational quote or a story in the paper she thought I would be interested in. Some of my personal favorites were the police blotters where she would highlight crimes that happened nearby, and they were usually accompanied by a note that said to "be careful." She also had a knack for finding stories about one of my friends getting arrested, and she would use that clipping to tell me how she "always knew he was bad news" and how much she worried that I was hanging with the wrong crowd . . .


One morning I woke up and next to my bed (taped to my bedside lamp) was the above ad from the Marine Corps. At first I thought she was trying to tell me something -- perhaps she wanted me to enlist? But then I saw the tagline: "He's not just my son. He's my hero." I must have done something really good to make her happy that day, so much so that it required a military advertisement just to relay the message!


Anyway, my Mom is the busiest person I know. She makes you think she is the only mother of 2 who works and takes care of a house. She accumulates piles of old newspapers and circulars, and since she has "no time" to read them everyday, every few weeks she would sit down one night on the living room floor amongst the piles and . . . get ready . . . catch up on old news! She would say things to me like "did you hear about the house in Lynbrook that got robbed?" or "did you know so-and-so got married?" to which my response would be: "Yes, Mom that happened 2 months ago."