To MOM!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Of course we should ALL be singing praise to our mother every day: where would we be without them? Of course we get busy, and sometimes days or weeks may go by without saying hello. Here in the “good ol’ USA” we have that 2^nd Sunday in May set aside to remember our mater. It’ll be a hard-sell to claim that you “forgot Mother’s Day” as the greeting card, candy & floral pushers won’t let you.

So, here is to ALL Moms: THANKS for ALL you do, and here are some special memories I have of mine. MARGARET ANN NEWLIN preceded most of us into this world, the 2^nd of the 4 Newlin children of Henry & Ann. She spent her formative years back east. I remember hearing that she recalled the Great Depression very well: they had to let the upstairs maid go (contrasting with my father’s experience: the family farm blew from Colorado back into Oklahoma from whence my grandfather had emigrated). The 1^st day of school at Glendale High my mom spotted my dad from across the auditorium where new students had an orientation. She remembers well that one could tell he was a very popular young man (he told me later he was telling dirty jokes to the guys). While my mom was being courted by many an Ivy League hopeful that were courteous and polite to my grandmother, she recalls that my dad would pull into the driveway, honk his car’s horn and yell: “Come on Maggie!”

Margaret and Fred A. Young, were married in December of 1943- both still teenagers. However the times had a way of maturing folks very quickly. While my dad served in the Pacific (from Midway through VJ-Day) my mom worked in a munitions factory. To this day, I am proud of them both and have no regrets historically about President Truman’s decision to “drop the big ones…” Many my age owe our lives to that decision: Meme’s dad was also a WW II Navy veteran. It is interesting to me that there is a wartime photo of my folks with a dog. Many of you have heard me say “I was raised in a kennel” (Burbank & Malibu), and dogs certainly played pivotal roles in the lives of our family. My mom had 3 children: me, Christine Marie and Laura Jean. I remember mom telling me that she & dad knew well their limitations, due to lack of education, but always vowed to work hard and succeed.

Both had careers, of course my mom’s was primarily managing the kennels until my youngest sister started high school. It was about that time that my parents transitioned from AKC dog handlers to American Kennel Club judges. They shined. My mom had been a founder of Great Western Terriers Assoc., was active with the Beverly Hills Kennel Club, and helped the Burbank Kennel Club along the way. Both Chris & Laura are involved with dogs (Laura shows Aussies; Chris is an AKC Judge). Guess you could say I escaped the kennel-life to become a National Park Ranger: let nature take its course.

1975

Besides “the dog career” Mom was the office manager an orthopedic surgery practice, a docent at the L. A. Zoo, and an all-round great person. This blogger still remembers stopping at Foster’s Freeze and getting vanilla ice cream cones: one time I dropped mine while handing one to Chris. Before I could work up many tears there was mom with a replacement. THANKS mom, you were the best a lad could have…