Jesse's Thoughts

When I look back on my childhood, I think Mom provided all the support that I could have asked for.

She made lunches for me every single day, even through my U of L days. Never once did I have to eat in the school cafeteria. She may have done this for financial reasons, but it certainly made me happy.

She couldn't help me with math or science, but she was always ready to help with English or literature. On those few occasions where I needed to give a speech, she seemed delighted to bail me out and write a speech for me.

She used to make costumes for me to wear at the annual Red and White costume contest at Manual. I always won. I remember the "beatnik" costume, and the Napoleon costume, but there may have been more. I believe she sewed these by hand; I don't remember us having a sewing machine.

But I think I appreciate her more for what she didn't do. She didn't try to tell me how to live my life.
She always claimed that she made such a mess of her life that she wasn't qualified to tell anyone else how to live theirs. (A reference to Keller, I believe.)

She always trusted me to do the right thing, and supported me in whatever I attempted to do.

I remember one time Charlie and I got into a name calling thing, and I started repeating the mantra "Charlie is a stupe" at every opportunity. One day I figured out how to remove the safety glass from the front of the TV. I stuck a little paper sign in the corner of the screen proclaiming "Charlie is a stupe" and then put the glass back. So anyone watching our TV got to see my little sign, kind of like the bugs that you see on TV channels these days.

But Mom didn't get upset. She was just as amused as I was.

In my view, there were two phases to Mom's life: my childhood phase when I lived at home and everything after that. Sometimes there were contradictions between these phases. If you only knew Mom in her later years, you might assume that she was never concerned with issues like racial discrimination, or civil rights, but I remember a couple of times where she seemed to care a lot.

One time, when we lived on "M" Street, she decided to take us all, including a neighbor boy, up to the Cozy to see a movie. When we got to the ticket booth they told Mom that we could come in, but the neighbor boy, who was black, would not be allowed in. She seemed surprised and was quite indignant. Then we all turned around and went back home. I've always wondered if she was actually unaware of the policies of the time, or if she just wanted to test the system.

A few years later, when "Porgy and Bess" was playing at the Brown Theater, I remember her telling me how wrong it was that black people were not allow in to see the show.

One attribute that seemed to be consistent throughout her life was her fascination with winning a big jackpot. In the later years this consisted mostly of casino gambling, but when I was a child she made do with TV game shows. She probably watched more episodes of “The Price is Right” than anyone. One of the earliest shows that I remember her watching was “Queen for a Day”. I don't remember the details, but I think each episode ended with an unsuspecting housewife being showered with gifts and affection. It's a little late, but I think that today Mom is truly the “Queen for a Day”.