Mothers Day News
By Leanne Italie
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) —
Moms. Everybody has one.
Not everybody remembers
to thank them when it’s well
deserved.
In time for Mother’s Day,
Lisa Erspamer takes care of
that in her third “letter”
book, a series of collected
missives that has already
covered some written by
death of her dad that
inspired her to put together
“A Letter to My Mom,” out
April 7 from Crown Arche-
type.
“My father died many,
many years ago and when
he was on his death bed he
wrote all of us letters. After
he passed, my mother gave
them to us. It’s just a really
powerful thing to get,” she
said. “I realized the one
thing we don’t get from
‘I think of moms as our first
love. They are the first person
that we bond with’
– Lisa Erspamer
humans to their dogs and
cats.
The former TV executive
and a team from her Los
Angeles production compa-
ny decided on 64 letters
balanced between everyday
sons and daughters and
celebrities. She told The
Associated Press in a recent
interview it was actually the
people often is how they
really feel.”
Besides, she added: “I
think of moms as our first
love. They are the first per-
son that we bond with.”
Enjoy these excerpts from
some of the book’s celebrity
kids to the women who
raised them:
Will.I.Am Of Mom
Debra Cain
Thank you for designing
me ...
Thank you for program-
ming me ...
Thank you for developing
me ...
Thank you for installing
morals in my system ...
Monica Lewinsky
Of Mom Marcia Straus
If it weren’t for you, I
wouldn’t still be here.
It’s true.
Without your love and
support during the mael-
strom of 1998, I don’t think I
would have made it through
the Starr investigation and
the long shadow of the
debilitating aftermath. To be
sure, survival those first few
weeks — drowning in a sea
of fear, humiliation and dev-
astation — would have been
unimaginable had you not
tended to me as only a
mother could — as only you
could.
Dr. Phil Mcgraw
Of His Late Mom
Geraldine Mcgraw
In my entire life, there was
never a single day that my
dad told me he was proud of
me and not a single day that
you didn’t tell me. ... I still
do my best to not disappoint
you. Not that I ever really
could. People often joked
that I could set the house on
fire and you’d jump in to
say, ‘Oh, he probably just a
needs a nap. It’s OK!’
Cat Cora Of Mom
Virginia Lee Cora
You dragged us to church
every single Sunday when I
know we obnoxiously
whined, you dyed red Greek
Orthodox eggs on Easter
when all the other kids had
pastels, and you always told
us the truth even when it
meant you had to deal with
our backlash. And you
never let us quit. Although I
do wish you would have let
me quit piano because all I
could play was ‘Music Box
Dancer’ after 7 years of les-
sons. I guess you made up
for it with all the cooking
lessons.
Josh Groban
Of Mom Lindy Groban
Raising me wasn’t easy. I
was odd, I was hyper, and
sometimes I spoke in my
PHOTO BY CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP, FILE
Dr. Phil to Cat Cora: Celebs thank their Moms In Letters
In a Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 file photo, Will.i.am
arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby theatre in Los
Angeles. Will.i.am is a contributor to a Mothers Day
book of letters from celebrity kids to the women
who raised them, by Lisa Erspamer. the former tV
executive and a team from her Los Angeles
production company decided on 64 letters
balanced between everyday sons and daughters
and celebrities.
native Martian tongue. But
you were ever-patient, ever-
loving and emotionally
connected to me in that way
that was telekinetic. As an
art teacher and art lover
you exposed me to a world I
now feel fortunate to call my
home. As a realist you never
let me dream without the
steadfastness and work
ethic to back it up.
Sunday Parkways Begins on
Mother’s Day
The City of Portland Sunday Parkways
presented by Kaiser Permanente begins
the season with a traffic-free route in
East Portland for bicycling, strolling and
playing in the streets this Sunday, Moth-
er’s Day, May 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This family-friendly free event also is
the kick off to Active Transportation
Week, which the Portland City Council
has designated to be celebrated from
May 10 to 16. The council proclamation,
introduced by Mayor Charlie Hales and
Commissioner Steve Novick, recognizes
Portland as a platinum-rated bicycle-
friendly city and the role bicycling plays
in the city’s and people’s health. Active
Transportation Week encourages all
Portlanders regardless of age, income,
ability or location to enjoy a healthy
active lifestyle by walking, strolling,
bicycling and otherwise using human
power to travel and play.
The East Portland Sunday Parkways
route runs along some of the City’s
newest neighborhood greenways, resi-
dential streets with low speed limits that
are marked with bicycle symbols on the
pavement.
Sunday Parkways is a series of five
free community events opening the city’s
largest public space – its streets – for
people to walk, bike, roll and discover
See PARKWAYS on page 10
May 6, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9