For the Henican kids, it's the cheerfulness that lingers.
Our mom could find a reason to like almost anything. Or anyone. She'd see
the good in the most rotten people - and pull it right out of them. It's not a
bad way to live, actually, rare though it is in this age of world-weary
diffidence. Keep telling yourself you like this person or that place or some
thing, pretty soon you'll be surrounded by people, places and things whose
company you treasure.
The kids would tease Mom about this.
"That's the greatest bologna sandwich I've ever eaten!" we'd say, mimicking
mom in a restaurant - always a wonderful restaurant, of course. Was there any
other kind?
She'd laugh - but still love the bologna.
Eventually, we too learned the awesome power of cheerfulness: Being happy
was a whole lot more fun than the alternatives, and we never doubted who we
learned that from.
So here's another Mother's Day without Pat Henican. If your mom is still
alive, enjoy her as much as she enjoys you.
If she's gone, enjoy the memories.
We could all use a little cheerfulness just about now.
TUNNEL TO SOMEWHERE, EVENTUALLY: The good news? A giant tunnel-boring
machine will soon be gnawing out the final stretch of the 63rd Street East
River Tunnel. The not-so-good news? The first LIRR train won't arrive in Grand
Central until 2013.
PREPPED FOR LIFE: The no-prom controversy, the Duke case, three grads
killed in Iraq: Who says president of all-boys Chaminade High School is a
laid-back kind of job? Not Father James Williams. Not this year. Father James
tells all to WHPC's Ray Bertolino, Monday, 12:30 p.m., 90.3 FM.
GREENEST THUMB: Mary Phipps, board chairwoman at Old Westbury Gardens, is
positively giddy over a million-dollar gift from longtime fertilizers Josie and
Julian Robertson. Mary's now predicting "a stable financial future" for "one
of the world's outstanding gardens." Oh, and no mulch shortages.
DISSIN' THE GUV: In "Lockdown, USA," hip-hop star Jim Jones calls out Eliot
Spitzer for talking drug-law reform on the campaign trial, then shrugging off
the issue in Albany. The Harlem-raised "We Fly High" rapper got 22,000 YouTube
hits in just two days for his Spitzer beat-down, while activists at Real Reform
New York noted a sad anniversary: 34 years since Nelson Rockefeller signed our
super-harsh drug law.
"CAN THIS OUTSIDER HEAL A TROUBLED COLLEGE?" That was Newsday's question in
1983. Well, Nassau Community College is a much healthier place now, and Sean
Fanelli is still president. He'll take a bow May 16 at a 25th anniversary gala
at Crest Hollow. You'd have to say the answer is yes.
ASKED AND UNANSWERED: Did anyone really expect Brazilian police to blame
just BRAZILIANS for that deadly Amazon plane crash? Far easier to accuse two
pilots from faraway Long Island. ... Why is the U.S. divorce rate the lowest in
37 years? Happier marriages? Or higher-priced divorce lawyers? ... Would
anyone like 20 million cubic yards of unidentifiable gook, dredged from Long
Island Sound? If so, please call the tri-state Regional Dredging Team. They've
got extra. ... Will ex-Met Mo Vaughn be needing a new slogan for his low-income
Mill River Residences in Rockville Centre? And don't say "Mo' House for Your
Money" ... Where are beachgoers on the Sound side of Centre Island supposed to,
um, go this summer if the collapsing restrooms are actually demolished?
Careful where you step on the way to the water. ... What's the sensitive way to
ask a 3-year-old what he knows about his father's murder? Unfortunately,
detectives probing the East Patchogue slaying of Carlton Shaw do have to ask.
... Still waiting for an answer on this one: Why didn't Nassau cops give
Inspector Vincent Muscarnera a blood-alcohol test when he cracked up a police
cruiser after that retirement party in Williston Park? District Attorney
Kathleen Rice is spitting mad that her medical-records search warrant was just
tossed out of court. ... Chastened CEO David Neeleman says he's searching for
JetBlue's "next great idea." Has he considered "Don't try to fly airplanes in a
major ice storm?" ... When a peregrine-falcon chick was hatched on a 17th
floor ledge at Nassau University Medical Center, did some cost-conscious
hospital administrator really try to send the mom a bill? Nah, that's just an
crazy rumor! Happy Mother's Day!
E-mail Ellis at henican@newsday.com and join him on the radio for "Henican
& White," weekdays 4-6 p.m. on WOR/710.
NOW THAT'S A MOTHER'S LOVE
1 Kathy Hilton's cellblock plea: "Free Paris"
2 Angelina Jolie's adoption strategy: "Cheaper by the dozen"
3 Britney Spears' triumphant return: "Buckle up, kids"
4 Dina Lohan's plaintive question: "Can't mothers be celebrities too?"
5 Rosie O'Donnell's double-up: "Twice the moms, twice the fun."
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