A Mother's Day tribute from an abandoned child

Perhaps the greatest Mother's Day tribute I have ever witnessed came to me while I was teaching at the Bristol Jail.

The tribute came from a man whose mother had given him away at birth. She died not long thereafter, so this man never even knew his mother at all.

It was about seven in the evening on Mother’s Day. My inmate/students and I were all gathered together in the tiny jail library. We crowded together around an even tinier table. Before we began class, I asked the men to share some stories about their mothers.

One of my inmate/students began fussing about his mom, saying how she'd been a druggie and had fifty different men, so he never knew who his dad was. "She was not a good mom," he said.

The toughest, baddest guy there stood up and said, "Mr. Talley, is it okay if I say a word or two?"

I nodded "Yes".

So this man, with knife scars and gunshot wounds adorning his body like tattoos, spoke to us all.

As he began I noticed tears welling up in his eyes. I had known him for months, but had never seen that before.

"About all us dudes in here had a bad childhood," he said. "A lot of us had fifty daddies. But we all only had one mom who brought us into this world. No matter what our moms may have done, or not done, we owe them our lives. And our respect. Let's all bow our heads and silently thank God for them right now."

None of us had a dry eye after that.

For an instant, at least, it was if all our mothers became alive and well - and good.

And for some reason, when we finished our prayer, we all spontaneously began to hug each other.