Clinton Township Newsletter

1 M a y 2 0 1 4 J u l i e F ly n n, e d i t o r M ay 2014 Since 1982 C L I N T O N T O W N S H I P N e w s l e t t e r ® Have you ever considered how difficult it must be for someone from a foreign land to master our English language? Seems to me it would be a lot easier if our words were spelled the way they sound. Hence, a trial run for Newsletter readers: Being possest with reforming our language, I'l rit a para- graph to illustrat mi point. If u agre, we cud tawk about this sum time. Tak the word "colonel". I meen it, tak the word and discard it becuz it shud be "kernel". Do u ever sail on a "yat"? Hav u studeed "mid evil" times? Is yur Mother's Sister yur "Ant"? Wether I am rit or rong, u shud giv this a tri. Altho u wil never win a speling bee, riting wil be mutch easier. Plurals sometimes leave me wondering. Shouldn't the plural of goof be a group of "geef"? One Kleenex, two "Kleenesees". A blouse – several "blice". One moose and two "meese". A single stewardess and more than one "stewardi". I confess to stealing these plurals from an old Shelley Berman routine. (For anyone under 50, he was a very funny comedian during the 50s and 60s). Do you ponder over "whom sweet whom"? To be correct you should know "who"does something and "whom" has something done to it. What's wrong with "Are everybody happy?" After all, you're thinking of a crowd, right? How many people do we mean when we say "every- body"? Trust me, "everybody" and "everyone" are singular pronouns. "Data" seems to me to be singular, but it's not. The "datum" is verified. Nothing in our English language is simple or obvious. There exists an American Philological Reform Association of which I might become a member. There is a Simplified Spelling Board I hope one day to join. I'm retired, you remember, and have lots of time to dabble in words. I still write thank you notes with ball point pen and engraved stationery. Sending an e-mail thank you just doesn't cut it for me. I don't anticipate you will lose any sleep over all this English stuff and I apologize for trying to teach English in a Newsletter column. Folks my age find joy in imparting their limited knowledge of a subject to whoever (whomever?) will listen. If it's all too mutch 4 u, wait for a better column next month... Maybe! –Julie Flynn "My Mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. I attribute all my success in my life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her." -- George Washington "Mi Colum" b y r u t h K e e s i n g M a y 2 0 1 4 The Farmers' Market in Downtown Clinton Opens May 4 (9am-1pm) at the Firehouse. Support Our Local Artisans & Farmers! When it was time for me to head off for kinder- garten, I was so happy ... until I realized that my Mother wouldn't be attending school with me. I cried all day for the next two months. My Mom and I were a team, or so I thought. We went everywhere together. I was blessed with, by the randomness of birth, a wonderful Mom. She encouraged us in many ways, especially anything art-related. I spent hours at Mom's side batiking, tie-dying, painting and drawing. When I began school full-day, Mom went to graduate school and got her Masters in Psychology. Occasionally, lacking a baby sitter, she'd take me to her night classes –fascinating! From those classes I learned that people are truly multi-faceted and I never looked at my fellow grammar school classmates the same way again. After complaining about something that happened on the playground, I got used to hearing Mom say, "And how did that make you feel?" Mom has made a 40+ year career of counseling the drug and alcohol addicted, and the mentally ill. For that, (and all of you out there who are in the same line of work) I give her a huge amount of credit. Mom once told me that the recidivism rate for those who are recovering from addiction is about 9 out of 10 – in other words, about 90% of recovering addicts will return to drugs and alcohol. That percentage is chilling. I asked her how, with those terrible odds, does she do it, to which she replied "I do it for the one (person who stays drug-free)." In her latest job, she had to make sure her patients were getting to their doctor's appointments, taking their prescribed medications, eat- ing, etc. Some of them were homeless, and Mom actually had to take to the streets and track them down. Some were in-and-out-of jail, and she had to go visit them there. Her job regularly took her to neighbor- hoods that I would be very nervous to go into... and she's 78 years old. About a year and a half ago, I got the call that you never want to receive. It was my Stepfather, saying, "I hate to tell you this, but your Mother's been in a terrible accident..." Like a punch in the gut, the news brought me to my knees. With, among other things, a broken neck, Mom spent a week in the ICU, two weeks in physical rehab, and lived with a neck brace for many months. Then, and only then, did she decide to retire. Mom, I love you so much–we are so blessed that you survived and are still with us. I'd like to say "Happy Mother's Day" to not only my Mom, but also to some of the women my Mom calls my "Other Mothers". My Mother-in-law--the real Mrs. Flynn–who has been like a second Mother to me for the past 26 years, my Stepmother Pat, who is such a sweet and fantastic addition to our family, and to Ruth, who makes me laugh and is my daily inspiration. A combination of these four women is whom I aspire to be someday. As Clinton Township's (self-appointed) Spokes-Mom, I'd like to say to all of the kids out there: Please – study hard, work hard and make good choices. We Moms are raising all of you, not just our own offspring – and it's an honor. You have an incredible future ahead of you – we know you'll make us proud. Sincerely, the Moms of Clinton Township. EDITOR'S COLUMN b y J u l i e F ly n n

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