“Well, as long as you're OK.”

I
want to take a break from the politics for a week and dedicate this
column to my mother in honor of Mother’s Day. My mother passed away on
March 18, 1999 after a brief bout with lung cancer.



My
mother taught me that in order to get anywhere in life, you couldn’t be
afraid of hard work. I don’t recall her ever specifically sitting me
down and teaching me this lesson, instead she taught by example.



As long
as I can remember, she worked as hard as she could and if something
needed to get done, she would be the one to do it. My mother had a
strong work ethic and whether she knew it or not, she passed that on to
all of her children as well.



My
parents were divorced when I was a teenager and after my older brothers
and sister had either gone off to college or moved away, it was just
the two of us.



She
worked for years at the hardware store here in Swaledale. G.A.
Eddy & Sons TrueValue hardware was a full scale hardware store,
complete with lumber yard and LP gas business. I would venture to say
that my mother probably knew the product line better than anyone there.
If you needed a particular piece of hardware, she knew exactly where it
was. I can remember going into the store after school. I remember
watching her help customers find what they were looking for. I have one
of her nametags that she wore while she worked there. It has the
TrueValue logo, underneath that is her name Marcelle, and under that it
says Happy To Serve You.



I can’t
imagine a more appropriate slogan for my mother to work by. She truly
was happy to serve people. Later in life she took a job at Easter Seals
in Mason City. She enjoyed that job as well and worked there until her
retirement.



When she
retired, she found that she perhaps had too much time on her hands. She
would never come right out and say it, but I think she missed going to
work every day and helping people. What she did come out and say was
how proud she was of her children and grandchildren. She took great
pride in watching us do well.



I want
to share a story. The year was 1998 and I was living in Rhode Island at
the time, but my wife and I were in Swaledale for a visit. It was the
end of June and time for the town’s annual 4th of July celebration.
Almost every town has some annual event where they have a parade, town
picnic, games for the kids, perhaps a street dance, and Swaledale was
no exception. Swaledale Big Day is held the last Saturday in June. We
have all of the required elements for a town celebration and we top it
off with a street dance at night. We close off main street, hire a band
or a disc jockey and literally dance in the street.



This
particular Big Day was probably the hottest it’s ever been in
Swaledale. The day’s events were pulled off without a hitch until it
was time for the street dance. As my wife and I were waiting for the
dance to begin, the Swaledale Fire Dept. went through town advising
everyone that there was a tornado coming right towards Swaledale and we
were to take cover. We happened to be outside the old hardware store
which is now an industrial door business called Doors, Inc. We quickly
took cover in the basement thinking that our lives could quite possibly
be over. As I sat there waiting for the tornado to either hit or miss
us, I remember thinking about the old pop machine the hardware store
used to have. I could get a bottle of pop for a dime after school and I
often did. I wondered if it was still there.



The
tornado missed Swaledale by about a mile and we were relieved. Not only
because we were spared the devastation, but also because now we had a
legitimate reason to dance in the street. I called my mother after the
all clear was issued and told her we were OK. She asked me where we
were. I told her we were “in Doors.” She said, “but where are you?” I
said, “we are in Doors.” There was a slight pause and she said, “well,
as long as you’re OK.” At that point I realized she thought I was
telling her that we were indoors but didn’t want to be specific. We
shared a good laugh and I still chuckle about it today.



Saturday’s
storm brought beautiful weather on Sunday. Celeste and I were supposed
to leave in the afternoon for Rhode Island. I remember the family
sitting in the grass in the shaded front yard and discussing calling
the airline to postpone our flight another day. I am glad we did. It
was our last visit before she got sick.


My
mother gave me my love for public service. There is a certain amount of
sacrifice and when done well, a lot of work involved in being a mayor
of a small town. I believe that a love for public service coupled with
a strong work ethic were very important traits for me to have.



Everything
I set out to accomplish as mayor, I worked as hard as I could to get
the job done. My mother wouldn’t have it any other way. And I am very
grateful to her.