Mother Knows Best
Stephen Mosher
I was in my bedroom, sprawled across the bed, probably reading, possibly coloring (something I continued to do well into my Twenties, for the calming effect it had on me), and definitely listening to records on my Hi-Fi. There was a knock on my door and My Mam opened it up, stepping inside.
“If you’re not doing anything, I’d like you to come downstairs please.”
“Ok, why?”
“There’s a movie coming on that I want you to watch.”
Mama, having been raised right by her own mother, knew a lot about movies. They were a Hollywood family, Mama’s parents had worked within the studio system, Mama had had numerous encounters over the years with celebrities, and she did enjoy her movies, so anytime she had something to say or teach about movies, I trusted her. Turning off the record player, I followed Me Mother out of the bedroom, my bare feet making soft indentations on the plush beige carpet, the stairs not making a noise as we crossed down to the lower level, where the living room and family were. During the trip down the stairs, Mama said to me, “You always say that she only plays goody-two-shoes in all her movies and this is a movie that will change your mind about her and give you a respect for her that you didn’t have before.”
Entering the living room, I looked at the television set over in the corner of the room - the movie was just beginning and the dialogue had already started. It was in English! They were speaking English! During the Portugal years, all the old movies on TV were still in English, but ever since we moved to Switzerland, I had had to watch movies dubbed into German - at least, the dialogue was dubbed. The musical numbers were always subtitled, so the movie stars’ singing voices remained intact. This was a rare treat. A Doris Day movie in English. And she was gorgeous - I loved the look of the film, right off the bat. So I threw myself onto the shag sunburst area rug, propped myself up on my elbows, and settled in for a new movie adventure.
Two hours later, I was stupefied. Mama had been right - I had completely misjudged Doris Day, and Love Me Or Leave Me was just the film to show me how much I had misjudged her. It was just like my Mother to defend Doris Day to me, to educate me, to open my eyes to my judgemental behavior, and to broaden my field of imagination.
Of course, it backfired on her, since my parents had the soundtrack to the movie and I became, immediately, obsessed with it, playing it non-stop on my Hi-Fi until it almost drove her mad.
I am still obsessed with Love Me Or Leave Me, a gift from My Mam that has lasted a lifetime.
