A Sunday Mother's Day Semi-Open Weekend Thread and Sharing of Motherly Stories

I would like to wish all applicable parties a "Happy Mother's Day" on this second Sunday of May 2016. In my well wishes I expand the definition of "mother" to include caregivers, teachers, and those who "mother" our planet Earth, nature, and care for both animal and human people.

As a rule, I try not to surrender to the greeting card industrial complex (instead I sent my mother a 99 cent "kids" card). I also reject the multi billion dollar consumerist hustle that Mother's Day has become (even though I put 100 dollars in the bank for my mother). And on this occasion, I always remind people that Anna Jarvis, the primary founder of Mother's Day in the United States, hated what the holiday had become, fought legal battles to restrict the appropriation of its name, and died penniless.

Memories don't live like people do. To honor my mother, and also to embarrass her, here are some of my favorite childhood memories featuring "Mama DeVega".

1. She waited in line for many, many hours with me in the rain to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Most other parents would have left but she said, "I made you a promise and I am going to keep it". Good life advice. Those moments are important for building a young person's character.

2. When my mother would get paid on Thursday we would go to the park, play on the swings, and then eat at McDonald's. I would order a filet-o-fish sandwich, french fries, and a hamburger with extra onions. I would then make my own surf and turf sandwich where I combined all the ingredients. Being a young sophisticate, I then added honey mustard sauce to the meal. My mother looked on physically ill and disgusted. However, she never forbade me my fancy McDonald's meal.

3. My father had many female "friends". On one afternoon, my mother spotted him and his "friend" together in a car around the corner from where we lived. Apparently, my father was not too bright regarding these things. My mother told me to put on the seat belt. She then chased my father and his "friend" where, as timing would dictate, a train was approaching. My mother then tried using her car to push the target vehicle onto the tracks in the path of the train--somehow the safety gate had not come down completely. At this point, my father jumped out of the car, leaving his "friend", and pleaded for my mother not to kill her. My mother showed mercy and let "the bitch" escape. There would be other stories in their epic feud involving bleach, vanilla ice cream cones, and the Atari E.T. and Custer's Revenge video games.

4. My mother and I liked to follow police cars and other emergency vehicles at high speed. We could not resist their siren call--get the pun? During these adventures, I saw horrible car accidents and a few dead bodies.

Do you have any favorite stories or memories of your mother(s) to share? And as is our Sunday habit, are there any news items or stories of either public or private concern that you would like to share?