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PHOTO: Dad Sandy and Mum Graham
Mother’s Day Lenny Stoute

Unless your daddy’s Lionel Richie, most likely the first melodic voice we all hear is that of Mom. Whether she was a cooer or a straight talker, Mom always came in on the softer side of things. As we grew and tried her patience, the voice would on occasion turn as harsh as Courtney Love. But it was only out of love and because of the love, the storms never lasted long and clear skies were never far away.

My Mom was a piano playing lady balancing a large family so by the time I came along, the story was that Mom would only settle in at the keys when she was feeling really chill or alternately, when she was pissed at us beyond words. Funny thing, as I recall, the set list never varied according to mood. Her set list was a mix of the classics and 1930’s era ‘parlour’ music, executed with the same fluid delivery and with great attention to the originals.  So while I have great difficult recalling my first impressions of my mother’s voice, she will forever in my memory be entwined with the cascading minor key chords of “Claire de Lune”, the very first piece of music I can recalling hearing. And in the hearing, rooted to the spot in awe.

To paraphrase John Sebastian, I’m glad I got this chance to say a word about the music and the mothers that inspire us all. Top Three Mother songs-‘Mama Tried’, “Mama Told Me Not To Come’ and ‘Mother and Child Reunion’.

Mima, Music and Memories Sandy Graham

Mother:
The hearth of our home was the warmth of my mother’s arms and  wherever the music was - the radio, the record player and my mother’s voice singing the hooks of her favorite songs.
My mother, Gloria, a strong, proud, self-educated woman, often went without for her four children and made magic happen every day. She is my role model and through the years she has been both a mother and a father to me.  In a word, she is music and music is love!

She had great sayings, expressions, to explain situations that required a longer explanation that would have been beyond my years and my understanding. I would ask “Mom where you going?” She would say “I am going to see a man about a dog”. My reply always was, “Yeah! We are getting a dog!”  My favorite line was “I am gonna get the butter from the duck”. That was a warning of an impending spanking. I got my last one at 16 when she threw a soft house slipper like a boomerang and it hit me in the head in another part of the house.

She made her best cakes in the middle of the night. In the morning there was always a piece missing so I would ask, “Mom who ate the cake?” She would say “it called to me last night, saying taste me, taste me”. Her cakes were special -the butter icing cake with coconut and the amazing chocolate cake. Her cakes soothed my tears and fueled my desire to be somebody.

Submitted by Don Graham

Every year in May we get to honour the strongest people on the planet….mothers.  You will note that it’s Mother Earth, Mother Nature, the Motherlode,the Mothership and so on. Not to take anything away from fathers but most of us who had good fathers was because they had good wives, who happened to be our mothers.  This little story pretty well sums it up. A kid comes home and sees his mom and says, “Mom where’s my jacket?  Mom where’s the thing I left in the whaddayacallit  by the front door?  Mom do we have any milk left?”  Same kid comes home and sees just his dad;one question, “ Dad, where’s mom?” ‘Nuff said.

And the effect of mothers in the entertainment field is huge as well. When Elvis Presley, the future King of  Rock ‘n’ Roll walked into Sam Phillip’s Sun Records in Memphis,Tennessee it was to make a record for his mom. The kid recorded ‘My Happiness’ and caught the attention of Phillip’s secretary. The rest, of course, is history.

Gordon Lightfoot’s mom in Orillia recognized Lightfoot's musical talent and schooled him into a successful child performer. His first public tune was "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" (an Irish lullaby) in grade four, which was broadcast over his school's public address system on a parents' day event.