The Meanest Mom

So, you have a Ph.D. from Duke in Medieval Literature and four kids climbing up your back, whadaya do? Reinvent yourself! That's what Jana Mathews did, using her polished synapses and knack for narrative to emerge on-line as The Meanest Mom! Of course, that's mostly hype. When Bob Buckley and I visited Jana and her blonde-headed brood the other week, she seemed no more maniacal than any other highly educated woman held hostage by fidgety midgets. Hell, I'd yammer on the computer too! In fact, I do - something I divulged to Jana as we banished her kids to the backroom just long enough for a sit down interview. Halfway through, the little crumb-snatchers broke free from their cartoons and surrounded our little production, which was fine since we were doing a story on a blogging mom swamped in offspring.

Only one teensy problem, I was in such a hurry to capture the ensuing madness, I neglected to re-white balance after shooting the computer screen, a rookie move that turned the lionshare of my footage a sickly, jaundiced yellow. Oopsie! Oh well, nothing a few more drops and drags in the non-linear suite won't (almost) fix. Anyhoo, from the sound of the comments on her site, her legion of Fanmoms didn't notice; they were just stoked to see their hero on the tee-vee. Ya know, when we shine a spotlight on a lowly blogger, I almost feel like we're using our powers for good and not evil - a warm and fuzzy I'll no doubt cling to until the next time I'm knocking on some widow's door and asking for a photo of the recently deceased. Is that harsh? Maybe - but just like Jana Mathews I write what I know. So far, no news crews have knocked on my door to discuss it, but when they do I hope I'll be as gracious - and widely-read - as The Meanest Mom.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go conjur up a cool, on-line nickname...