A Tribute To My Mom, Jean, By Dave Rabbit

Before I start, I want to publicly thank my partners in the ATS MIX Show concept and project for their tremendous “behind the scenes” support of me over the last several months which allowed me more time with my Mom during the last month or two of her life. Mark, Bill, Simon, Stephen and, of course, my “Elmer Fudd”, ATS MIX Show partner and friend, Johnny Anonymous. You all were a class act. Additionally, I want to thank all my “Mod Squad” buddies for a lot of “behind the scenes” help too, which allowed me more time with my Mom. Finally, I want to thank all the AboveTopSecret.Com members who have U2U’d and E-Mailed me their condolences.

My Mom passed away this past Christmas morning at her home in Dallas, about 5 minutes from me. Although I had prepared myself over the last few months for the news, still, when I heard her live in nurse’s voice, I knew, and for a few minutes just sat very still. She was 84, and this photo was taken last year at Easter Brunch. Feisty, full of life and fun until the end. I lost both my real Father as well as my Step-Father (whom I was closest to) within the last couple of years, so Mom was the last of my “parents”. Being an only child, not only was I closer to my Mother than my Fathers, but like all Mothers, she thought the world revolved around me.

She was originally married and widowed during the latter part of World War II to a Navy pilot, “Joe”, who was killed in action. A year or so after, she met my father, also a Navy pilot, and married and on August 15, 1948 in Dallas, Texas I arrived. My memories of that time were good ones for the most part until I was about 4 and walked into my Dad’s closet and saw his clothes gone. His love for hunting and fishing and being away while my Mother was pregnant with my baby brother, who died at birth, seemed to be the last straw for her.

My Mom went through a succession of boyfriends, some good, some bad. I remember a professional boxer as one of the good ones and a manager of a bowling alley as a bad one. I remember a night when he was beating my Mom, I grabbed a baseball bat and swung away, knocking him out until the police arrived. I was about 6. I always considered myself as my Mom’s protector after my Father split. I still remember to this day the shocked looked on this buttwipe’s face when the police told him that a 6 year old took him down.

My Mom was a professional singer, dancer and fashion model during the 1940’s and 50’s and entertained the troops through USO. She was a back-up singer for Willie Nelson in his very early years when he wore suits and was clean shaven. His original “Hello Walls” album contained a lot of back-ups that my Mom did. She also continued her professional dancing career as an instructor for the old Arthur Murray Dance Studios. She married a guy by the name of “Chuck” who also had a passion for dancing. We moved from Dallas to Fort Worth and stayed there for a few years before she divorced him and she and I moved back to Dallas at the end of my 3rd grade year. The only thing that I remember about “Chuck” was that his ears and his nose hair were like walking through Sherwood Forest. Ugh! If he were still alive today, I would take a 2 x 4 and beat the crap out of him. To this day I use tweezers and remove even the slightest hair from my ears and nose. Can you say “Fetish”?

During this period of time Mom and I were pretty poor. She took a bus to work, I went to school by myself either walking or riding a bike. She use to take in clothing to iron for people so that we could have enough money to eat on. We had a house that my Dad and her had as a rental and it was close to the elementary and junior high that I eventually attended. She eventually got a pink used Cadillac as a gift from the man that would become my final Step-Father that I would call “Dad” from the day they tied the knot. “Dad” would fill the void in my life that my Father never could. I also remember her and I going to the old drive-in movies back in those days, with scrambled egg sandwiches that she made for us to munch on because we didn’t have spare money for the concession stand.

She married my Dad (step-father “Bruce”) in 1964 and we moved to Richardson, Texas which is a suburb of Dallas. My Mom was really a huge defender of me during my high school years as I was a hell raiser, rock & roll lead singer in a band and, in my own mind, God’s greatest gift to high school girls everywhere. In fact, I would now like to thank my Mom, post mortem, for my TOP TEN things she covered my buttocks on while I was in high school.

Mom, thanks for:

1. Not telling Dad when you caught me in bed with those two girls who climbed into my bedroom window that night.

2. Not telling Dad that you had to wake me up from a wild night of partying and have me remove my car from the middle of the yard because I had missed our circle driveway.

3. Not telling Dad about the girl’s dress you zippered up so he wouldn’t see when you guys came home unexpectedly.

4. Telling Dad that it was you who bought the case of Coors beer just to try it.

5. Telling Dad you had to do an errand and came and bailed me out of jail from that party our band played for.

6. Giving me money behind Dad’s back for all the clutches I burned up racing in my 1965 Corvair Convertible.

7. Telling Dad you gave me permission to have a few girls over when the band practiced at our house that day and the police were called.

8. Wiring me money when you and Dad were in Vegas when I was thrown in jail for unpaid traffic tickets.

9. Not telling Dad when you knew that I had driven your 1964 Cadillac Convertible without permission that week you were in Hawaii before I even had a license.

10. Putting up with all my late nights and always being there to be sure I got home safely.

The next biggest test for my Mom was when I volunteered to join the Air Force to keep from going to Vietnam by being drafted in the Army. It almost killed her emotionally when I told her I had volunteered that first time. I’ll never forget the drive to the airport after my 30 day leave. She had big crocodile tears in her eyes as she hugged me for the last time. My following two tours were probably more painful for her than the first because she couldn’t understand why I would intentionally put myself in harm’s way after surviving the first time. She finally understood when I told her about Radio First Termer during my last tour in Saigon.

When I left the service, because my Dad “Bruce” was in ill health, I put my dream of being a DJ on hold to take over the family business so that both she and my Dad would have security and a solid income. The next 35 years my Mom would be my rock. She would see me through a couple of bad marriages, a period of depression, a series of ups and downs with the family business before it would skyrocket, the birth of my two sons and the 21 year marriage and counting with my wife Bunny, whom she dearly loved. The biggest thrill of her life, however, was when I made her aware in February 2006 of the Dave Rabbit Cult that had been going on in a parallel universe without any of our knowledge. Of course, from that moment to the day that she passed away, she has been an avid fan of the reborn Dave Rabbit mentality and personality. She has listened to everything that I have ever done, laughed and cried. Her favorite moments were Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine, William Rodriguez and all the ATS MIX Shows that Johnny Anonymous and I created for AboveTopSecret.Com. The biggest “gift” to me was supporting me in my decision to sell the 54 year old family business in May 2007 and pursue, at 59, my delayed 36 year dream of being a professional broadcaster FULL TIME. As we approach 2008 with tremendous hope of syndication with a daily ATS MIX Show, my only regret is that she didn’t live long enough to see that day when I sign a contract and my Holy Grail, my dream, becomes reality.

I love you Mom. Thanks for being the one person in my entire life who was always there for me, with unfaltering love, devotion and support.

Your Son,

David

aka Dave Rabbit

[edit on 12/27/2007 by Dave Rabbit]

I'm sorry for your loss, Dave.

You're a lucky man, though, to have had such a loving, caring and truly understanding mother.

Thanks for posting this wealth of fond memories.

A better tribute could not have been written, imo.

So sorry to read of the loss of your mother this Christmas.

Thank you for sharing your well written feelings about her.

Im so sorry dave, Please know we are all here for you,

You our in our thoughts,

if you need to talk please feel you can contact me,

Gosh Dave... I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.

Wishing you the best. Your tribue was really heartfelt and touching.

Awww Dave, I am sooo sorry. That is so sad, and for it to have happened on Christmas, that is just so awful..
You'll be in my thoughts and prayers Dave.


~Minnie

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Roswell1 wanted to post but his internet is messing up so he typed this and asked me to post it for him;

I am soo sorry for you're loss Dave, i hope God guides you through these troubled times and that you are able to think of the good times you had together in the past rather than focusing on your loss (trust me it helps, it worked for me when my cousin died)

I'm sorry i won't be able to post this myself, minnie will be posting it for me, right now my internet is not working and i wont get a chance later as i am leaving today.


Roswell.
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[edit on 27-12-2007 by minnie]

My families thoughts and prayers are with you Dave, we wish you well in this extremely difficult time.

Merry xmas Dave for what its worth. And remember energy is never ever lost its is merely transformed into a different state. good luck Dave.

What a wonderful, incomparable mother you had! She looked so elegant -- noble and gentle, but with a real strength to her.

Declines are hard, even when the end is inevitable.

I raise a glass of my favorite eggnog in her honor. Way to go, Jean -- what wonderful things you gave to the world. You'll be missed.

Dave, I am so sorry for your loss.
You have quite a remarkable Mom, my friend. Seems like an amazing woman, who truly loved you.

And, damn, you were quite the hell raiser

I am sorry to hear about your loss Dave. That was an excellent tribute. My thoughts are with you.

Sorry to hear about that. She must've been extraordinary. I have two words for you: Endeavor On. (Some day I'll start making shirts with that simple slogan that can be taken both ways.) (And Ever On, in case you didn't get it)

I am very sorry to hear of your loss Dave.

I wish you the best, and will keep you and your mom in my prayers.

I'm very sorry for your loss Dave.

It sounds like you had a tremendous relationship with her. Thank you for sharing the memories with us.

Condolences.
.

That has to be one of the greatest tributes i have ever read. Your mom did a great job on raising ya Dave. My condolenses on your loss. She sounded like one of the greatest Moms around.

She will be missed, our prayers go out to ya.

Silver

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss Dave. Your mother was truely a lady and you were the apple of her eye. She's not gone, she's just away. Your tribute to your mother was first-rate. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

reply to post by Dave Rabbit


Sorry to hear about your loss...Especially at this special time of the year....Gee with all those "Not telling dads" kinda reminded me of the toll I put on my mom....Although the wiring money thing for being in jail on tickets...I dont think mine woulda went for that....

God bless...

Dave,

The only problem I see with this now is that you will have to remain on good behavior ALWAYS, from here on end because rest assured, now that she's crossed over, you can bet your boots she's got her eye on you at All Times whereas before she had to rely on yours or others updates on your most current shinanigans.

At any rate, she'll let you know in one way or another if she's got any issues with anything that you DO, SAY or THINK... Lol -- but it's up to you if you want to be receptive to her input on things.

Nevertheless, she will be resting up for awhile as it sounds like she most definitely deserves a break. So for now, just be grateful that she's no longer in pain and is blissfully sleeping things off to rejuvenate herself. But rest assured, she will be back, sooner than you think.
In the mean time, just remember this:
"You can fool some of the people, some of the times and you can fool some people, all of the times -- but there are some people you can never fool and that is You Can't Fool MOM. Remember that. lol

Also... I cried buckets reading over your post here but my personal opinion is that she was too good looking for her own good -- and... that she was damn lucky to have you as a son to protect her. No doubt about it.. she's going to stick around to return you the favor!

God Bless! I will keep her and you and your family in my prayers!

Man, I'm sorry. Well, hey she lived quite a long life, though... and how recent was that photo? She looked real good for her age!

Best of wishes.

Hi Dave,

I am sorry for your loss. I know how it feels to lose a parent. Regardless of age & cause, if that day comes, it wil be tragic.

My sincerest condolences.

SFT

What an amazing story Dave.
A great tribute to your mother.
It reads like a movie. The life story of a person who really LIVED!

My best wishes to you, and your family..