Does your mother know?

On Wednesday night I attended a meeting of the Crescenta Valley Community Association. It was at the community center at CV Park and the room was packed with local residents interested in the fate of the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. Kudos to Richard Toyon for a dynamic presentation. (An extended version of the story will appear in next week’s Crescenta Valley Sun).

After the meeting, I had a chance to talk to Stuart Byles. He told me a funny story about a friend of his who owned a big, fancy Cadillac several years ago. On occasion, this gentleman would cruise to downtown Los Angeles frequented by “working girls,” should I say. He said that the girls would flock to his fancy car, hoping to connect with this man of obvious means. To their disappointment, the gentleman instead would ask, “Does your mother know what you’re doing?”

What a loaded question! Is there a better tool to generate an attitude adjustment? I don’t think that even a gentle reminder to behave ’cause Santa Claus is coming would be as effective.

This week, our cover story is a powerful story on drinking and driving. Mary O’Keefe followed a two day event that was coordinated by the Glendale Unified School District, the Glendale Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, plus many county agencies. Entitled “Every 15 Minutes,” the program dramatizes for students that every 15 minutes someone is killed or hurt in an accident involving a drunk driver. The event was awesome and, not surprisingly, Mary did an incredible job in covering it.

I wonder how necessary a program like this would be if our kids first thought about what their mom or dad would think before they acted, prior to taking that drink or hit. Would they be so eager to indulge in something that their parents would disapprove of?

There is a phrase that some Christians try to remember: What would Jesus do? You may have seen the letters “WWJD?” on a T-shirt around town. Well, now you know what it means.

The phrase follows the same train of thought as “Does your mother know what you’re doing?” It begs for better behavior, for taking the time to evaluate your actions before doing or saying something stupid.

It raises the level of personal accountability which in turn will raise the character of a person. And however that’s accomplished, it’s a good thing.

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Last week could not have been nicer for Easter. On Friday, I decided to visit La Crescenta Presbyterian Church. They had a 5:30 p.m. service and is close to my home, so I thought it’d be convenient.

The service was entitled the Seven Last Words of Christ and was exceptionally well done.

It started with a responsive reading where a leader read a passage and the congregants responded. Following that was a welcome and an opening prayer, then the program.

The program was really well-done. Each of the seven sections were read by Catherine Gorton, a sophomore at CVHS. After she read, music was performed by either Matt Gray or Carl Schroeder, both CV students, to give the audience time to absorb the text. Then another student from CV would step up to the podium and offer a reflection on how that particular verse of scripture touched them. They would then step down, go to one of seven candles that were lit on the altar, extinguish the flame and then be seated.

The lighting in the church was also dimmed after each reading so by the end of the seventh passage, the sanctuary was in shadow, at which time we left.

It was a solemn way to usher in the Easter weekend which, for us, ended with a celebration shared with family and friends.