Happy Birthday Mom!

With Mom at my brother Ralph's birthday party.

My mother is celebrating a milestone birthday today (in the interest of self-preservation, I will not reveal the number ). The original “Mama Grizzly”, for as long as I can remember, she has been actively involved in conservative Republican politics –  thanks to the influence of her Italian-immigrant and freedom-loving father, who came to the USA at the age of eight with his widowed mother and two brothers and went on to not only learn the language, but excel in school and eventually obtain a Pharmacy Degree from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Unlike most others in their Germantown, Philadelphia neighborhood, my grandfather Raphael Cauterucci despised the big-government policies of FDR — a man for whom he had very little — if any — respect. From his corner drugstore, a landmark in an area populated by immigrants of various ethnic backgrounds (Italian, Irish, German, Jewish, etc) he not only helped his neighbors solve their medical issues, he also did his best to educate them politically.

My grandfather was a firm believer in capitalism, in being your own boss if possible, and in working hard to achieve your own individual dream. Of all the people he influenced, perhaps he left the deepest impression upon my mother, who would often tell me stories of how she and another friend — the only two kids in the neighborhood whose parents were registered Republicans — would go off knocking on doors, supplied with GOP literature from their fathers, in an attempt to wake them up to the benefits of limited government, personal responsibility and individual liberty.

Not surprisingly, Mom is a huge Sarah Palin supporter.

Mom has also told me stories of how she’d run home from school to watch the Joseph McCarthy trials with her father, a man both of them considered a patriot and a hero.

As a very young child, I remember accompanying her to various polling locations on Election Days, where she’d hand out literature and/or put up signs for her favored candidates. I remember her intense anger and disappointment in the Catholic nuns who would rightfully teach us that abortion is the taking of innocent, unborn life yet go out and vote for the pro-abortion Democrat over the pro-life Republican because “Democrats helped the poor and Republicans helped the rich”. (Yes, long before Glenn Beck began enlightening the country about so-called “social justice”, I experienced it as a Catholic school kid over and over again. Thank God I had smart parents at home who could set me straight.)

Speaking of which, I am exceedingly grateful my mother was and is a staunch pro-lifer; I was after all, an unexpected 5th addition to the family during a time of incredible financial stress and uncertainty. And before anyone jumps in to remind me abortion wasn’t legal at that time, states like New York (just a 2+ hour drive from where we lived in the Philly burbs) were performing them. I have an acquaintance whose mother made a very different choice prior to 1973 when she’d found out that her unborn baby boy would be born with a handicap; this acquaintance (sadly enough) was very proud of the fact that her mom traveled from Florida to New York to terminate the life of her younger brother.

Which reminds me of another very important experience Mom shares with pro-life Sarah Palin: a son with Down Syndrome (in addition to the fact they’ve both given birth to five babies). And Ralph is as loved and accepted in our family as Trig is in his.

So you could accurately say that Rose DiGiovanni was a “Mama Grizzly” waaay before Sarah Palin popularized the term. And for many, many reasons, I was blessed to grow up her daughter. More thoughts on My Mother My Role Model at my Wisdom Laughter Healing site.

Happy Birthday Mom — I love you!