A Mother's Day.

So, Mother's day come and gone. Great story on the TEE-VEE about how the initial concept of mother's day became perverted, toned town and commercialized. Just as wee baby Jesus' (not Morales) birthday was not initially intended as an end-of-the-year toy dump for the toy industry and reason to get shitfacedly drunken in the midst of total strangers, the original North American Mother's day was a solemn and heart-wrenchingly beautiful gesture.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother's day proclamation, a 'treaty' which called for those enbroiled in the harsh and bloody battles of the American Civil War, to lay down their weapons and work towards peace. Of course, this was all to be done in the spirit and sympathy towards the American mother, who were losing their sons in what seemed to be an increasingly futile series of campaigns. The concept is as apt today as it was then, with the endless and devastating march of our shattered sons and daughters to the dark, wretched pall of a human body bag, blindly lifted high upon the wings of an iron pigeon bound for home... But only for an instant, then dropped, quietly, hidden from view, into the near forgotten oblivion of an unjust grave, with only a mother and family to lament. The government dogs, nails soiled and scraped from digging these hasty graves, run foaming and greedy for newer and fresher bones. There is no pain like a parent that outlives a child.

Instead, now, we go for an overpriced brunch and buy her limp flowers from the convenience store. Or we make a phone call. Send discount candy. Crappy cards.

Look at you mother again. And, for the first time... Look at her as if for the last time. Life is delicate, and fleeting... For all of us. Don't let the card companies cheapen it.