A Happy Mother's Day to all. This is includes my own Mother who was a lot of fun, extremely liberal and a feisty Italian lady all in one.
My favorite Mom story is also very personal. In my young days, I was considered backward or as they said then, retarded. A wise old nun brought attention to my eyesight as I tried to enter 2nd grade and I soon could see clearly with new glasses hanging from my twitching nose. those damn things never seemed to stay up. In an instant, what education I was able to glean by just listening, suddenly whooshed into view, literally and I was not actually retarded but normal and somewhat blind.
The experience left me behind in school and it was particularly damaging to my ability to read, the mother of all student skills. The 50s were still a great time, blind or not, and my parents were gifted $5,000 by my Italian Noni and we moved from our inner city Sheffield Avenue apartment to a house which seemed to me to be in the country. It was almost directly west of our old place at 2513 N. Major Avenue. The move took place in the summer of 1959, the year Mayor Daley blasted the air raid sirens for the White Sox Pennant win, bringing fear and even death in those heady Ruskey nuke days. That summer was pivotal for me because I had been passed on to the new school, Saint James, from the old school, Saint Sebastian's, conditionally upon proof of remedial progress.
Our new house had front steps and in summer heat and humidity my Mother sat with me, day after day going through the classic literature of kiddie books like Our Town and many of the Little Golden Books and of course the life learning lessons of Johnny and Suzie. The new nuns were Felicians a teaching order originally devoted to the Polish Immigrants and they tested me to a pass for moving into the 5th grade. My mother had done her magic and brought me back to being on track with other children of my age. It turned out I had a decent IQ after all and I owe it all to the generous loving help I received from my Mom.
So, my reason to celebrate Mother's day is simply that I had a great Mother. I miss you Mom.
Best,
Donn Marier
DM-Your Own CFO