Old Mommas

April 7, 2024

My daughter sent me a text saying my grandson Emmett asked her why I, Gabba, liked old mamas, and why were they in museums and not outside?

It’s a good question and one that deserves a serious answer. 

There are at least three immediate lessons to learn from this question:

1. Obviously, Emmett is asking about “mummies,” not mamas. However, it is better that you ask the question than not. Yes, your terminology might not be what everyone else uses but so what? Get your question out there. Damn, the terms. Now, I’m not advocating you should continue to speak improperly or use the wrong terminology. However, the job of helping a person learn the proper wording is that of others. Parents and elders may think a child’s ill conceived words are cute. However, the child will not forgive you if you don’t tell them the truth, the actual word. On at least two occasions I have heard how a young woman went to a fancy Italian restaurant and overwhelmed by the occasion decided to play it safe and ordered “Pasquetti.” Her friends laughed at her. Her first thought was “Thanks Mom.” Why didn’t mom or dad tell her it’s “spaghetti?” I guess they thought it was cute. But when you are seventeen and sitting in a restaurant on prom night it’s not cute. And another pet peeve of mine is people, especially teachers, talking to kids in a baby talk voice. How do you expect them to learn how to speak correctly if they don’t hear proper diction ad speech?

2. Emmett’s use of the term momas lead him to a conclusion that is incorrect, but proper given his frame of reference. Again, helping him understand what is being talked about will not doubt help him to realize why.

3. The fundamental question being raised by my grandson is an age old one. “Why?” or perhaps “Who cares?”

I’ve heard it voiced different ways but it comes down to “So what?” These questions are fundamental ones.

Let me begin by giving the answer Sir Edmund Hillary gave when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest, “Because it is there.”

I think people have a sense of wanting to know, to understand, and to do that they must. To go on quests to understand. What will it teach us? We don’t know until we go. It is only when standing atop the moutain that we get a glimpse. 

Those who seek that glimpse, that understanding, are the ones who can change the world, and by that I mean change our understanding of the world and how it works, (or worked at one time.)

Civilization and its changes over time is keen to our understanding of ourselves and how to form “more perfect” means of living together. Various forms of governance have been tried. Most are more beneficial to a few. Those at the top of these systems use various forms of coersion to keep it that way: religion, armies, courts, police, customs, stories and myths. All these things can be used to keep power, especially if you have the ability to control the outcome.

If you want to create a system that benefits the most people then you need to make sure no one has absolute authority. It’s a tricky business and prone to failure. It depends on honesty and the truth.

So why do I like old mamas? Old mummies give us a hint into the past. Into a system of belief that although changed over time, never really questioned the fundamental ideas. The ideas that the Egyptian had thousands of years ago, and held for thousands of years, still are with us today and influence our culture, our religions, and our very sense of who we are. It is worth learning to learn who we are and where we came from.

Can we do better? I don’t know. I’m not sure. Yes, I guess we could. Will we? That is the question.