Mothers hold a special place in our lives and hearts

You know you’re growin’ older when... You realize that a clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Our mothers hold a special place of honor, and rightfully so. An exemplary example is my mother, Franc E. (Shewey) Tinnen. A true beauty, she was raised in a small 1860s farm home without indoor plumbing (yes, the outhouse was used as she grew up), with no air conditioning, on a small acreage farm on O Highway.

Oh, well, you get the picture. Her father, Elton ‘Buck’ Shewey, had planned on a boy with a first name of Frank. He and his wife, Irene, changed the name to Franc Elizabeth, thus making her name Franc E.

It was a unique (or some might say stubborn) way of naming their daughter.

She and my father, Skip, married early, on December 5, 1948. She was only 18 and he was 19.

My two brothers, Dave and Greg, and I were blessed to have been raised by her. Her love was without bounds, though her discipline was quick and needed often to corral us boisterous, full-oflife youngsters. There were times when we deserved our butts whipped, and when we deserved the punishment, she used one of our dad’s belts. In her household, whipping was an accepted way to handle punishment for bad behavior.

No, there were no bruises left on our backsides – what was left was the mark of being disobedient or disrespectful. And trust me, we deserved the punishment.

As quickly as the disci- pline arrived, a welcomed hug and a kiss followed. Her positive response helped turn a bad situation into a tolerable correction. We knew the good times would quickly return.

When someone asked for her opinion, she was frank and to the point. She oftentimes penned a column entitled ‘Being Franc.” She framed the situation in black and white terms.

She attended nearly every important event as we grew up. It didn’t make any difference how busy she was; she made the effort to be there for us, rain or shine, with plenty of bone-chilling days at track meets and football games.

Mother’s Day celebrations were special. For at least a few hours, she got the well-deserved glory. Her passing on May 8, 1993, from a brain aneurysm, was a devastating loss to us Tinnens, and so many other friends and family. They, too, enjoyed her and could count on her love and straightforward attitude.

Another Mother’s Day will come this Sunday, but if you were blessed like myself and my brothers, every day should have been Mother’s Day. Therefore, for those who have the good fortune of having their moms still alive, make sure to give them a big hug and a kiss. It will make their Mother’s Day very special.

* * * * Trivia question: What is

FROM JEFFERSON CITY

the record for most children born to one mother? A. 19 B. 23 C. 41 D. 69 (Locate answer close by).

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Some smiles for Mother’s Day…

Sunday school teacher: Tell me, Johnny. Do you say prayers before eating? Johnny: No, ma’am, I don’t have to. My mom’s a good cook.

Doug: I think my mom’s getting serious about straightening up my room once and for all. Dan: How do you know? Doug: She’s learning to drive a bulldozer.

Elephant: Why do mother kangaroos hate rainy days?

Hippo: I give up. Elephant: Because their kids have to play inside!

Mother to son: I’m warning you. If you fall out of that tree and break both your legs, don’t come running to me!

Robbie: Larry’s moth- er had four children. Three were named North, South and West. What was her other child’s name? Bobbie: East?

Robbie: No. Larry.

(Trivia answer: D. 69. The wife of Feodor Vassilyev birthed 69 babies total in her lifetime. She lived to be 76 and, between 1725 and 1765, had 69 children (16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets). Of those, 67 of them survived infancy, with the loss of one set of twins).

* * * *

Food for thought: My mother spanked me as a child. As a result, I now suffer from a psychological condition known as “respect for others.”

Talk to you next week!

Steve Tinnen

stevetinnen@yahoo.com