F. Y. I.

Did  You  Know ?
The Nile catfish swims upside-down to feed at the water's surface.

Location, Location
The television show "Seinfeld" was set in New York City, but the exterior used for Jerry Senfeld's apartment building is actually in Los Angeles.

Table Tidbits
Spinach is native to the area of Iran and didn't spread to other parts of the world until the beginning of the Christian era.

Strange Change
The original name of Bank of America was Bank of Italy.

State Stats
The average square mile of land in Montana contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope and 3.3 deer.

Still On The Books
In France, no pig may be addressed as Napoleon by its owner.

F. Y. I.

Quotable
"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered."

Sweet Tribute
There is a museum dedicated to strawberries in Belgium.

No Kidding
Pistol shrimp can make a noise loud enough to break glass.

The Philly File
On March 7, 1889, the Academy of Music was the setting for an indoor football game between the University of Pennsylvania and the Riverton Clubof Princeton.  At halftime, tug-of-war matches were held as entertainment.

Famous Firsts
The first country in the Far East to permit kissing in films was China.  The kiss was bestowed on Miss Mamie Lee in the 1926 film "Two Women in the House".

Back Then
Tug-of-war was an Olympic sport in the early 1900s.

MOTHER GOOSE REDUX

               In  Honor  of   a  Special  Mother

Old Mother Goose, when She wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air on a very fine gander.
Mother Goose had a house, 'T was built in a wood,
Where an owl at the door for a sentinel stood.
She had a son Jack, a plain-looking lad; He was not
very good, nor yet very bad.  She sent him to market,
A live goose he bought; "Here! mother," says he,
"It will not go for nought."  Jack's goose and her gander
Grew very fond; They'd both eat together, or swim in
one pond.  Jack found one morning, as I have been told,
His goose had laid him an egg of pure gold.
Jack rode to his mother, the news for to tell.
She called him a good boy, and said it was well.

THE GRAPEVINE

THE  IMAGES  OF  MOTHER

4 Years of Age
My Mommy can do anything!

8 Years of Age
My Mom knows a lot!  A whole lot!

12 Years of Age
My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 Years of Age
Mom doesn't know that, either.

16 Years of Age
My Mother?  She's clueless. 

18 Years of Age
That old woman?!

25 Years of Age
Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 Years of Age
Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 Years of Age
Wonder what Mom thinks about it?

65 Years of Age
Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

AH, GET READY FOR MOM

• My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done:  "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside  --  I've just finished cleaning!"
• My mother taught me about religion:  "You'd better pray that stain will come out of the carpet."
• My mother taught me about time travel:  "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you right into the middle of the next week."
• My mother taught me about logic:  "Because I said so, that's why."
• My mother taught me about foresight:  Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
• My mother taught me about the science of osmosis:  "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
• My mother taught me about contortionism:  "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck?!"
• My mother taught me about stamina:  "You'll sit there until all the spinach is finished."
• My mother taught me about weather:  "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
• My mother taught me how to solve physics problem:  "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming towards you, would you listen to me then?"
• My mother taught me about hypocrisy:  "If I told you once, I've told you a million times: don't exaggerate!"
• My mother taught me the circle of life:  "I bought you into this world, and I can take you out."
• My mother taught me about envy:  "There are millions of less forunate children in this world who don't have wonerful parents like you do!"

                            What Did Your Mother Teach You ?

THE DARNDEST THINGS

Thanks for the mortifying memories:  Moments that make Mom blush are truly gifts that keep on embarrassing.  

Sure, Mom was embarrassing, especially when we were 14 and her bothersome behavior required that she drop us off two blocks from the mall.  The truth was, she had endured far worse conduct from us.  So, in anticipation of Mother's Day,   readers were asked to tell the most embarrassing things their kids ever did.   Here are some of the best stories.  And here's to Mom for putting up with us.

Years ago, my husband and I had both The Inquirer and the Bulletin delivered to our home, and therefore had two paperboys.  One Saturday, we were sitting in the kitchen having our morning coffee when there was a knock at the door.  My then - 4 -year old daughter, Amy, answered the door and shouted, "It's the paperboy".  My husband said, "Which one?"  To our surprise and horror, Amy's answer was, "The fat one".
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"Mom, are you sure Ninja Turtles are boys?"  That's the question my 3-year-old son, Victor, who loved the Teenage Mutant Turtles, would always ask me.  No matter how often I tod him they kept their "boy stuff" inside their shells, he still had doubts.  ForVictor's fourth birthday party, his uncle surprised him by having Ninja Turtle Leonardo show up. Leonardo posed for pictures and then played Simon Says with the kids.  When Leonardo said, "Put your hands in the air", his shell rode up and exposed the outline of his "boy stuff" under his green leotard.  Victor ran over, grabbed him, and shouted, "Look Mom, you were right.  They are boys!"  I couldn't believe that my kid had this guy by the family jewels - and he refused to let go until I came over to see!  A bag of ice for the discomfort and a good tip helped, but I don't think Leonardo was going to do any more kid parties after that.
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My daughter was in her first week of kindergerten when I asked how her day went as we drove home.  "The teacher asked what we did this summer during circle time," she said.  Confident that she had lots to tell (she just had  a big birthday party and we spent a few weeks at the shore), I asked her what she shared. Jill said, "I told about the time Daddy saved the baby bunny in the pool."  That's odd, I thought, because Jill only knew about that through family lore.  "I also talked about the time Daddy found the squirrels in his strawberries,"  she continued.  "Remember, Mom? He saw them and yelled, 'Get out of my strawberries, you f*%#! squirrels!'"  My hands went numb on the steering wheel.  I asked her what the teacher said.  Jill replied, "She said she liked the bunny story".
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When our third child was born, my husband and I decided it was time to get a minivan.  We went to the dealership, decided on a vehicle, and prepared ourselves for negotiations.  We crammed the family into the tiny sales office where our middle child, Adam, then 4, leaned his elbows on the desk, and gazed intently at the salesman -- a thin man with a hawk nose, mustache, and heavy black glasses.  Adam asked him, "Would you take off your glasses?"  I anticipated this was going to lead to an awkward moment for Mom and Dad, who were trying to negotiate a good price, so I tried to defuse the situation: "Oh, Adam, why would you want the man to take off his glasses?"  Adam replied, "I want to see if his nose comes off with his glasses".
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When my daughter was 3 years old, she heard me talking to a friend about someone I called my mother-in-law.  "Who are you talking about?" she asked.  I told her that was what I called her grandmother.  A few weeks later, Grandma and Grandpa came to visit, and we all went for a ride in the car.  Soon I hear, "Grandma, youhave so many names.  My daddy calls you Mom.  Grandpa calls you Paulie, and I call you Grandma."  She paused to take a breath, looked Grandma in the eye, and said, "And you should hear what my mommy calls you!"
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It was Memorial Day 1956.  My daughters, Ellen, 4, and Lisa, 2, were excited about the local parade, which we saw and followed to the cemetery for a memorial service.  There they announced the band would play a hymn, "Abide With Me," which would be followed by a minute of silence.  Heads were bowed, silence reigned, and Lisa, who was in my arms, clapped vigorously, and in her sweet, penetrating voice said, "Very, very nice.  Now play 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'."
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My two children, a year apart, were playing in our backyard one summer day.  The neighbors, whose yard backed onto ours, were preparing for a wedding and the arrival of their guests.  As my husband and I were watching the festivities from our second-floor bathroom window, I noticed that all eyes, including the minister's, were on our yard.  I looked down and saw my daughter  --  with pants and underpants pulled below her knees  -- bending over.  My son, who was standing close behind her with hands on bent knees, As I felt the blood rush to my face, I ran downstairs and brought the two of them in the house, waiting for the expanation.  "Something was itching me up there," she replied, and her brother "wanted to see what it was."

TEN IDEAS THAT WILL MAKE MOM HAPPY

Don't forget Mother's Day !
Your mother or grandmother is the one who cooks your meals, washes your clothes, drives you everywhere and has taken care of you all your life.  Mother's Day is a time to appreciate all of the things she does for you.
Here are some tips to make this year's Mother Day something special.  You don't have to spend much to make your mom happy.

1. Make your mom breakfast in bed, or go out to breakfast.
2. Buy her flowers to put in a vase or her garden.
3. Pick out a nice scented candle, or bath products; mothers love to relax.
4. A new lipstick or nail polish will put some color in her life.
5. Buy a new book or her favorite DVD.
6. Baked goods - make your mom a cake.
7. Create a fruit basket or fruit bouquet.
8. Take her for a manicure.
9. Burn a CD of her favorite songs or organize some photos in an album.
10. Don't forget about things that don't cost any money - like doing the wash, cooking a meal or dusting and vacuuming the house

And most importantly, make sure to give her a card.  Whether it is homemade or from Hallmark or something specialthat moms always treasure.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms !

F. Y. I.

Quotable
by Judith Viorst, American author and journalist
"Strenght is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces."

Did You Know ?
Astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot.

On Average
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

No Kidding
It has been calculated that a single breath from a mature blue whale can inflate up to 2,000 balloons.

Close Up
In  "The Empire Strikes Back", there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field.

In Other  Words
The Greek word for butterfly is "psyche", which means soul.