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4A – Daily News – Friday, May 7, 2010 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 The Mother of Mother’s Day Your Turn A popular column near Mother’s Day is, well, mothers Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 — specifically tributes to the authors’ mothers. At least two Daily News columnists have gone this route, and I’ve written on the topic a few times over the years. This year, though, I’ll put my thoughts in a note to my mother and take a look at the holiday itself. Most accounts trace the origin of Mother’s Day back to the ancient Greeks, who held an annual spring festival honoring Rhea, mother of many of the polytheistic society’s gods. The Romans followed suit, paying tribute to their Great Mother of the Gods, Cybele. Here in America, we owe Mother’s Day to Anna Jarvis, a homemaker from West Virginia who, in 1907, two years after the passing of her mother, set to work ensuring a national day honoring mothers was instituted. Accounts vary about why she wanted to do so. Some say she wanted to draw attention to the poor health conditions in her community and decided mothers would be the strongest proponents of such a cause. Others say she had with the idea after her mother’s passing. My favorite account, though, claims Jarvis’ mother said a short prayer after teaching a les- son in church about the women of the Bible. It went like this: even though she passed away in 1948. So angered by the increasing emphasis on profiting off the holiday, Jarvis filed a lawsuit in 1923 to stop a Moth- er’s Day festival and was arrested for disturbing the peace at an event at which carnations were being sold for a war mothers group. Jarvis and her sister spent their entire inheri- tance campaigning against the holiday and she particularly disliked the practice of sending print- ed greeting cards. Her obituary in the New York Times contained the following quote: “A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother — and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment.” Some say Jarvis confessed late in life that she Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. “I hope that someone, sometime will found a memori- al mothers day commemorating her for the matchless ser- vice she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.” Nice sentiment, whether the elder Jarvis ever said it or not. Jarvis was 12 at the time, and one source claims this ignited in her a lifelong passion to create just such a com- memoration. The facts become a little clearer in 1913, when Jarvis successfully lobbied the House of Representatives to pass a resolution urging federal officials to wear white carna- tions, Jarvis’ mother’s favorite flower, on Mother’s Day. A year later, Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday. Many people now decry the commercialization of Mother’s Day, which has become the most popular day of the year for dining out. You can include Jarvis on that list, regretted ever having started the tradition of Mother’s Day. I’m glad she did, though. Too many of us take our mothers for granted and taking a day to reflect on all the sacrifices mothers have made over the years is really the least we can do. Whether that means writing a letter or taking Mom to church, as Jarvis would have preferred, or showering Mom with gifts and a feast, make sure to let Mom know how much she means to you Sunday. As for Jarvis, you can reflect on her accomplishments any day of the year. She never married nor had children. *** Mess up, ‘fess up. That’s what a former boss used to tell me, and it’s good advice. For weeks now I’ve been dili- gently removing the apostrophes from Mother’s Day, insisting that the day honors all mothers, making it plural, not possessive. Seems Miss Jarvis outfoxed me, having trademarked the term Mother’s Day in 1912. She was adamant that the day be for each family to honor its mother — the exact opposite of what I presumed. My apologies to Jarvis, and to you. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext.112, or by e-mail at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. Not a new doctor in Corning Editor: I am pleased that Corning has success- fully recruited a new medical provider. However, I believe your headline and article are misleading to the public as to Ms. Bagwell's credentials. She is not a med- ical doctor, she has not completed the 4 years of medical school — following college graduation — and 3 years of post- graduate residency training required to become a family physician. While she is enti- tled to the honorific of doctor, it is because of her Doctor of Philoso- phy, not as a result of a medical degree. She is a Family Nurse Practioner who must work under the direction of a licensed physician in the state of California. Deborah Sutcliffe, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Some thoughts on Mother’s Day Commentary My column today was inspired by a journal response from one of my seventeen-year old senior students. I asked her to borrow this excerpt because it caught my eye and I found it interesting. She wrote: "I can’t under- stand why so many people find it so easy to settle. "Almost all of my peers are smart people, but so many have stopped when things have become difficult. "Girls become stay at home moms when all their life they wanted to be something great. "I don’t understand how desire can just die, how so many dreams get lost and thrown away." Frankly, that’s a pretty mature perspective. Moreover, I think her words reflect how girls her age in general feel about becoming mothers. This Sunday is Mother’s Day. It’s always my hope that my female students would not desire to pursue this career path so early in life. After all, shouldn’t they be chasing their own dreams? It’s funny how history has changed the way society views motherhood. For centuries, if a woman wasn’t married with children by twenty, she would be viewed as a spinster. This trend continued well into the twentieth century. But by the 1960s, women began finding their purpose beyond the home in other ways. Finding a career was desired more out of a search for equali- ty and personal identity than financial necessity. Today, two income house- holds are the rule, not the exception. Once seen as the backbone of American society, the image of the "stay at home Mom" began taking on more negative conno- tations over the years, especial- ly in more feminist, liberal thinking circles. Personally, I find that tragic. What greater mark could a woman leave than to stay at home and raise obedient, respectful children? Now, I’m not suggesting that working moms are bad moms – on the contrary. Many choose to do so and are quite skilled at juggling both roles. What bothers me, though, is that society tends to look down its nose at those women who make the decision to put on the cap of homemaker. To suggest that stay at home moms aren’t really working all day is downright wrong. If you don’t believe me, try it sometime. In addition, like my student, to say that stay at home moms aren’t, in truth, something great, is also a misguided men- tality. I know what she means, though. It is somewhat discourag- ing to watch young girls have their dreams tossed aside due to one unexpected pregnancy. It’s funny, though. I’ve also seen former students realize their dreams because of such experiences. Mother- hood can make one more responsible, focused, and motivated to do things she might not otherwise have thought possible. Whatever the case, we need to recognize and honor the efforts of those women who vol- untarily offer their heart and souls to the nurturing of our young kids each and every day. Simply put, we, as a society, need to place them on a higher pedestal. ing about what it is that makes a person great. We tend to idolize our professional athletes, and envy those with great job titles and multiple college degrees. My own mother and sister had neither, yet went on to be unbelievable moms. My own wife, Rena, decided to put her col- lege goals on hold so she could stay home with our kids, Ethan and Mia. Their legacy won’t Pat Gleason Simply Put be how much money they made or how high they climbed the corporate ladder. They’ve already left their mark by who they are and the impact they had on their children’s lives. Is there any greater goal than that? To all of you moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day. Have a great Friday. ——— I’m a little bit tired of hear- Pat Gleason grew up in Los Angeles and has taught English at Red Bluff High School since 1990. He can be reached at phgleaso@rbuhsd.k12.ca.us.