You know most people look through their wallets or their pocket books
and way down at the bottom, past their credit cards and the baby pictures
and green stamps, you can usually find a little ole dog-eared piece of poetry of some kind ...
andquot;i was cleaninand' out my wallet the other day and i ran across a whole bunch of iouand's some of and'em 30 years overdue. and the funny thing is that all these iouand's are owed to one person, and i just kinda thought that maybe now might be a pretty good time for an accounting ...
andquot;mom? you listeninand'?andquot;
andquot;mom, i owe you for so many things, a lot of different services, like night watchman for instance, for lyinand' awake nights listeninand' for coughs, cries and creakinand' floorboards, and me cominand' in too late. oh, you had the eye of an eagle, the roar of a lion, but ya always had a heart as big as a house.
andquot;i owe you for services as a short order cook, chef, baker, for makinand' sirloin outta hamburger, turkey outta tuna fish and big old strappinand' boys outta leftovers ...
andquot;i owe you for cleaninand' services, for the daily scrubbinand' of face and ears, all work done by hand, and for the frequent dustinand' of a small boyand's pants to try to make sure that he led a spotless life, and for washinand' and ironinand' that no laundry could ever do, for dryinand' the tears of childhood, and for ironinand' out the problems of growinand' up ...
andquot;i owe you for services as a bodyguard, for protectinand' me from the terrors of thunderstorms and nightmares, and too many green apples ...
andquot;and lord knows i owe you for medical attention, for nursinand' me through measles, mumps, bruises, bumps, splinters and spring fever. and letand's not forget medical advice either. oh no, important things like andquot;if you donand't quit scratchinand' that it ainand't never gonnaand' get well,andquot; and andquot;if ya cross your eyes like that theyand're gonna stick like thatandquot; and probably the most important was, andquot;boy, you be sure youand've got on clean underwear in case youand're in an accident.andquot;
andquot;and i owe you for veterinarian services, for feedinand' every lost dog that i dragged home at the end of a rope, for healinand' the pains of puppy love ...
andquot;and i owe you for entertainment, entertainment that kept the household goinand' through some pretty tough times, for wonderful productions at christmas, 4th of july, birthdays, and for somehow makinand' and'and'make believeandquot; come true on a very limited budget ...
andquot;i own you for construction work, for buildinand' kites, and confidence, and hopes and dreams and somehow ya made and'em all touch the sky, and for cementinand' together a family, so that it could stand the worst kinds of shocks and blows, and for layinand' down that good strong foundation to build a life on ....
andquot;i owe you for carryinand' charges, for carryinand' me on your books for the necessities of life things that a growinand' boy just gottaand' have. things like a pair of high top boots with a little pocket on the side for a jack knife ...
andquot;and one thing, mom, i will never ever forget when there were only two pieces of apple pie and three hungry people, i noticed that you were always the one that suddenly decided that you really werenand't hungry any how ...
andquot;these are just a few of the things for which payment is long overdue. the person i owe and'em to worked very, very cheap. she managed simply by doinand' without a whole lotta things that she needed herself ...
andquot;my iouand's add up to much more than i could ever ever hope to repay. but you know the nicest thing about it all is that i know that sheand'll mark the whole bill andquot;paid in fullandquot; for just one kiss, and four little words ...
andquot;ma, i love you.andquot;
