Joe's mom...

[Duder]

Cute story about Joe's mom that I came across http://www.progressivepuppy.com/the_progressive_puppy/2008/08/best-joe-bidens.html">here. It's from Senator Biden's book, Promises to Keep.

Joe Biden is getting ready for an eighth-grade dance at a new school, but he's wearing his father's dress shirt and doesn't have cuff links. No problem: His mother, Jean, runs down to the basement and comes up with two pairs of nuts and bolts and fastens them to the borrowed French cuffs.

Biden balks. "The kids will make fun of me," he says.

"Now look, Joey," his mom says, "if anybody says anything to you about these nuts and bolts you look them right in the eye and say, 'Don't you have a pair of these?' "

So, when the first kid mean enough to make fun of the new kid with nuts and bolts for cuff links makes some smartass remark, Joe, recalling his mother's advice, looks his tormenter in the eye and says "You don't have a pair of these?"

There's a silence, then the bully replies, "Yeah, yeah. Of course, I got a pair of those."

[thunder rising]

1. I guess his mom didn't know about stringing two buttons together.

[IndyOp]

8. The fact that she didn't know about that is a part of the story...

Just my 2-cents...

Maybe the two buttons solution is a happy memory for you or your family and, if so, that is great - I don't want to disrespect that.

Still, my lower middle-class mom who was a wealthy wannabe who read magazines and dreamed about having "good furniture" and getting out of our "cracker box house." She would have known about the two-buttons solution and would've suggested that I kind of keep my cuffs hidden. She would have thus reinforced the idea that "real cuff links" are better than what I had.

Biden's mom's solution is creative and proud and pisses in the eye of anyone who would look down on her family for not being well-off.

Right now the most urgent issue we are facing is over-turning all of our materialistic attitudes -- because they are why our government is not working, why our society is (largely) morally bankrupt and why racism and militarism are still strong.

[DangerousRhythm]

2. Aww... so endearing!

Seriously, that's a great story! :D

[woodsprite]

3. The repubs have Rove, but we have "Mom"!

IMO, That's exactly the way we need to think. Great story!

[liberalmuse]

4. I think I love his mom.

The story about the nun is priceless!

[davsand]

5. The more stories I hear about his Mom the more excited I get.

First it was her paying Biden $5 to take out the bully that was picking on his younger brother. I was LMAO because that sounds SO much like a lot of families I know.

Then it was the story of her getting up in the nun's face after she made fun of Biden's speech issues and threatening to "rip off her bonnet" if she ever did it again. I thought THAT was priceless because I'd probably have done that if it had been MY kid.

Now I see this story and I understand exactly why Biden is who he is today. This guy was clearly raised to think on his feet and to stand up when you need to. It maybe isn't always PC, but it sure as hell is who many of us real folks are.

Bravo to Biden and to his family!

:applause:



Laura

[rurallib]

7. And to make do with what they had, not always buying new.

That is a major lesson in life. Helps keep one's ass out of debt.

[davsand]

9. "It's what we got."

My kid has heard that a kerjillion times and will probably hear it a few more times before she's fully raised. Frequently in the context of an unhappy dinner review, but sometimes in the context of material goods that are not, somehow, "enough". An equally used one is "Celebrate it--its what you got."

LOL.

rurallib, I'm starting to wonder if we came from the same family!


:hi:



Laura

[AuntPatsy]

15. I believe these stories, my mother was similar, she had her own run ins with the nuns

when she felt my sisters or I were unfairly treated and she always won...miss her.

[1corona4u]

6. His sister later bought him a set of silver

nut/bolt cufflinks, that he still wears to this day.

[Muttocracy]

11. Oh, I've wanted to see a closeup of those forever! Thankyou!

I kind of hope he weaves that into his VP speech somehow.

[elehhhhna]

12. I always liked that guy.

Now I like him even more.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Smart mom

and smart son to follow her advice.

I'm more and more impressed with Biden. Just finding out he stuttered as a child and overcame it speaks volumes, as my husband has a speech impediment he's struggled with all his life.

[Muttocracy]

13. Photo of his mom celebrating his reelection

Jean Biden, then 83, celebrates election returns as her son, Sen. Joe Biden, and grandson Hunter work on the candidate's acceptance speech in 2002.
News Journal file/FRED COMEGYS

Delaware News Journal has a lot of great photos up:
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BL&Dato=20080819&Kategori=PHOTOS04&Lopenr=620001&Ref=PH

[my3boyz]

14. Matthews shared another cute story. He said Biden used to be teased

as a child for stuttering. One day one of the nuns at school teased him about it too. Well, his mom went to the school and told the nun if she ever teased her son again she would knock that bonnet off her head! Tough mama standing up for her son....

[Triana]

16. I hope this wonderful sassy woman gets to see her Joey become Vice President of the US...

...I'd like to see her face when he wins and hear what she thinks about it afterward. I think that would be a treasure to see.