The Jets take on the Washington Capitals tonight in what is sure to be an exciting game. The Jets brought their mothers on an earlier road trip and it got me thinking about my own mother, who passed away a year ago this week. If you will indulge me, I would like to share some of my more fonder memories of her...
As a child, I was a pretty good kid. I never got into too much trouble and only occasionally got the “wooden spoon” on the bum. I've got a t-shirt for that...
Anyway, one day, I can't remember what I did, but it warranted a spank on the behind, and my Mom used the flyswatter this time (as I guess she was baking and the wooden spoon was unavailable). When she did this, the flyswatter broke and she got upset. As a kid, I felt bad as I thought she liked the flyswatter and was upset that I broke it. So I opened up my piggy bank and went down to the Co-Op on Wall Street and bought her another one. The look on her face was priceless, I did good! Years later, she told me she was upset that she may have hit me too hard. I still have that flyswatter today...
![PXL_20250127_215205186[1].jpg](https://forums.hfboards.com/attachments/pxl_20250127_215205186-1-jpg.970491/ "PXL_20250127_215205186[1].jpg")
I remember playing in the front yard one day and I was attacked by someone's dog. I screamed as the dog was biting me, and whipping around the corner was my Mom with a broom and she taught that dog a lesson it would not forget! I still have a scar where the dog bit me, but it could have been a whole lot worse...
After my father passed away, I was the one who took care of my Mom. Well, actually, it was the other way around, she took care of me. Anyway, we began going on holidays together, usually going to Las Vegas at least twice a year, once by car and then by plane at Christmas time. My father died Christmas Day and her father (my Swedish Grandfather) died on Christmas Eve, so the holiday season is not very special for us. One Christmas when we were at the airport heading for Vegas, Canada Customs randomly selected my mother to have her hands swabbed and tested. Well, the test came back positive and they thought it was a mistake so they tried it once more. Positive again! They then turned to me and tested my hands, and the tests came back negative. They couldn't believe it and told my mother to wash her hands and they would test it again. This time it was negative and we were free to go. After watching all of those Border Security shows, I assume they were looking for drugs. The only thing I could see was that my mother was not wearing gloves when she got into the taxi cab, and I assume whatever she touched had drugs on it. I, on the other hand, wore my gloves in the cab. Needless to say, that was quite the experience, I never knew my mother was a drug mule...
My mother never liked flying, as she was afraid of heights, so in the summer, we would always drive to Las Vegas. I usually took a different route each time so we could see a new part of the United States. One year, we went to Denver, which she enjoyed, and then drove through the Rocky Mountains towards Utah. Well, she didn't like that at all, as she was on the floor the whole time. While I thought the scenery was spectacular, she was having none of that and she did not want to go that way to Vegas ever again! The next year, we ended up going to Denver once again, but this time, I drove south towards New Mexico. No sooner did we leave Colorado Springs, a huge storm hit and it absolutely poured. Fortunately, I was behind a semitrailer and could see the taillights. As long as I could see them, I continued to drive. Then it started to hail, it was awful, the car was being pummelled, but I continued to follow the semi. By now, my mother was pleading for me to stop the car, but I kept driving. Then the wind picked up and started the blow the car around and it was just crazy. The semi finally pulled off to the side of the road, so I did as well. The car was just rocking from the wind and the hail for a good thirty minutes. I thought we might even have been blown over with such strong winds. Finally, things started to calm down and the semi started to move, and so did I. The roads looked like a winter storm hit and the fields were absolutely white with hail. When we finally reached our destination (Raton, New Mexico), we were told that we had gone through an area that a tornado had touched down! My Mom made me promise that we would never travel through Colorado again, and I kept my word. All of our remaining trips together avoided the state entirely. My little Saturn Putt-Putt still has the dents from that storm...
Whenever we went to Vegas, we would always have breakfast at the Ports O'Call buffet in the Gold Coast Casino. I guess we went so often that we were considered regulars. They would always give us a big hug when we arrived and made sure they seated my mother as close to the buffet as possible. One particular occasion, my brother was with us and they had ordered a pot of coffee to split between them. My brother apparently drank all the coffee, so when the server came around, my mother asked her for some more coffee. I think the server misunderstood my mother as she gave her a very dirty look, then proceeded to try and pour coffee into her cup and realized that it was empty. She quickly left the table and returned a short time later with a full one, then she immediately poured my mother a cup and then asked if there was anything else. Needless to say, after that when we went to that buffet, if my mother asked for more coffee, they would always bring her another pot. Unfortunately, the buffet at the Gold Coast is gone, but the memories will live on...
I remember my mother was playing one of the slot machines at the Orleans Casino and she won what looked like a big pot, so I took a picture of her with the winning combination. “How come I'm not winning big,” she asked. I told her what did she expect when she was playing nine cents a spin. I told her if she wanted to “win big” she would have to increase her bet. She would have none of that, nine cents a spin was fine by her. Eventually, she finally took my advise, and she won big..
In the summer when we went to Vegas, we would stop in at the local thrift stores so I could look for some funny t-shirts. My mother usually looked through the blouses, but on one occasion, she helped me look for shirts. Well, it's a good thing she did, as she found one and bought it for me...
I remember the first time we went to Las Vegas for Christmas and my mother was packing her suitcase. She was trying things on, and one of the items she was taking was a woollen winter hat, which I had never seen before. I asked her where she got the hat, she said she had bought it in the 1970s at Eaton's. It was $10 (which was a lot of money back then), but she just had to have it. I said I had never seen her wear it before, and she said she had buyers remorse. Well, I really liked the hat and encouraged her to wear it to Vegas. No word of a lie, every year that we went to Sin City at Christmas, at least six to eight people would stop us and comment on my mother's hat. “See Mom,” I said, “everybody loves your hat...”
The only regret with my mother was not being able to take her to see the Jets 2.0 play. She did get to go see the Jets 1.0 play the Vancouver Canucks in a playoff game back in 1992. My sister was able to get some tickets, and my mother had a really good time. It was during the “White Out” and man, that arena was loud! It was nice that she was able to experience that...
I miss you Mom, you are worth more than that to me...
Go Jets Go!
As a child, I was a pretty good kid. I never got into too much trouble and only occasionally got the “wooden spoon” on the bum. I've got a t-shirt for that...
Anyway, one day, I can't remember what I did, but it warranted a spank on the behind, and my Mom used the flyswatter this time (as I guess she was baking and the wooden spoon was unavailable). When she did this, the flyswatter broke and she got upset. As a kid, I felt bad as I thought she liked the flyswatter and was upset that I broke it. So I opened up my piggy bank and went down to the Co-Op on Wall Street and bought her another one. The look on her face was priceless, I did good! Years later, she told me she was upset that she may have hit me too hard. I still have that flyswatter today...
I remember playing in the front yard one day and I was attacked by someone's dog. I screamed as the dog was biting me, and whipping around the corner was my Mom with a broom and she taught that dog a lesson it would not forget! I still have a scar where the dog bit me, but it could have been a whole lot worse...
After my father passed away, I was the one who took care of my Mom. Well, actually, it was the other way around, she took care of me. Anyway, we began going on holidays together, usually going to Las Vegas at least twice a year, once by car and then by plane at Christmas time. My father died Christmas Day and her father (my Swedish Grandfather) died on Christmas Eve, so the holiday season is not very special for us. One Christmas when we were at the airport heading for Vegas, Canada Customs randomly selected my mother to have her hands swabbed and tested. Well, the test came back positive and they thought it was a mistake so they tried it once more. Positive again! They then turned to me and tested my hands, and the tests came back negative. They couldn't believe it and told my mother to wash her hands and they would test it again. This time it was negative and we were free to go. After watching all of those Border Security shows, I assume they were looking for drugs. The only thing I could see was that my mother was not wearing gloves when she got into the taxi cab, and I assume whatever she touched had drugs on it. I, on the other hand, wore my gloves in the cab. Needless to say, that was quite the experience, I never knew my mother was a drug mule...
My mother never liked flying, as she was afraid of heights, so in the summer, we would always drive to Las Vegas. I usually took a different route each time so we could see a new part of the United States. One year, we went to Denver, which she enjoyed, and then drove through the Rocky Mountains towards Utah. Well, she didn't like that at all, as she was on the floor the whole time. While I thought the scenery was spectacular, she was having none of that and she did not want to go that way to Vegas ever again! The next year, we ended up going to Denver once again, but this time, I drove south towards New Mexico. No sooner did we leave Colorado Springs, a huge storm hit and it absolutely poured. Fortunately, I was behind a semitrailer and could see the taillights. As long as I could see them, I continued to drive. Then it started to hail, it was awful, the car was being pummelled, but I continued to follow the semi. By now, my mother was pleading for me to stop the car, but I kept driving. Then the wind picked up and started the blow the car around and it was just crazy. The semi finally pulled off to the side of the road, so I did as well. The car was just rocking from the wind and the hail for a good thirty minutes. I thought we might even have been blown over with such strong winds. Finally, things started to calm down and the semi started to move, and so did I. The roads looked like a winter storm hit and the fields were absolutely white with hail. When we finally reached our destination (Raton, New Mexico), we were told that we had gone through an area that a tornado had touched down! My Mom made me promise that we would never travel through Colorado again, and I kept my word. All of our remaining trips together avoided the state entirely. My little Saturn Putt-Putt still has the dents from that storm...
Whenever we went to Vegas, we would always have breakfast at the Ports O'Call buffet in the Gold Coast Casino. I guess we went so often that we were considered regulars. They would always give us a big hug when we arrived and made sure they seated my mother as close to the buffet as possible. One particular occasion, my brother was with us and they had ordered a pot of coffee to split between them. My brother apparently drank all the coffee, so when the server came around, my mother asked her for some more coffee. I think the server misunderstood my mother as she gave her a very dirty look, then proceeded to try and pour coffee into her cup and realized that it was empty. She quickly left the table and returned a short time later with a full one, then she immediately poured my mother a cup and then asked if there was anything else. Needless to say, after that when we went to that buffet, if my mother asked for more coffee, they would always bring her another pot. Unfortunately, the buffet at the Gold Coast is gone, but the memories will live on...
I remember my mother was playing one of the slot machines at the Orleans Casino and she won what looked like a big pot, so I took a picture of her with the winning combination. “How come I'm not winning big,” she asked. I told her what did she expect when she was playing nine cents a spin. I told her if she wanted to “win big” she would have to increase her bet. She would have none of that, nine cents a spin was fine by her. Eventually, she finally took my advise, and she won big..
In the summer when we went to Vegas, we would stop in at the local thrift stores so I could look for some funny t-shirts. My mother usually looked through the blouses, but on one occasion, she helped me look for shirts. Well, it's a good thing she did, as she found one and bought it for me...
I remember the first time we went to Las Vegas for Christmas and my mother was packing her suitcase. She was trying things on, and one of the items she was taking was a woollen winter hat, which I had never seen before. I asked her where she got the hat, she said she had bought it in the 1970s at Eaton's. It was $10 (which was a lot of money back then), but she just had to have it. I said I had never seen her wear it before, and she said she had buyers remorse. Well, I really liked the hat and encouraged her to wear it to Vegas. No word of a lie, every year that we went to Sin City at Christmas, at least six to eight people would stop us and comment on my mother's hat. “See Mom,” I said, “everybody loves your hat...”
The only regret with my mother was not being able to take her to see the Jets 2.0 play. She did get to go see the Jets 1.0 play the Vancouver Canucks in a playoff game back in 1992. My sister was able to get some tickets, and my mother had a really good time. It was during the “White Out” and man, that arena was loud! It was nice that she was able to experience that...
I miss you Mom, you are worth more than that to me...
Go Jets Go!
