Songwriters: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
Original Release: Load
Year: 1996
Definitive Version: S&M, 1999
After Mom’s cancer scare in
the fall of 1999, she really tried to rein in her demons. I was—and still
am—particularly impressed that she quit smoking. Of course, it only cost her
half of one lung, but others have had worse and not kicked the habit.
Because of that, I have zero
tolerance for anyone who complains about not being able to quit smoking. Save
it: My mom, who had a two-plus pack-a-day habit for at least three decades and
who had exhibited virtually no willpower when it came to changing things for
the better quit cold turkey; ANYONE can do it. If you can’t, then you don’t
really want to, so own it. It’s that simple as far as I’m concerned.
Jin, Scott and I were really
proud of her efforts, and we wanted to celebrate that in some way, so I
concocted a surprise 60th birthday party the next May (when I was listening to
S&M a lot). We’d have it at my house. Jin would fly in from LA, and, of
course, Scott and Shani would come up from Cincinnati. We’d meet up and take
Mom out to a nice dinner.
But the cherry on top of the
sundae was inviting Mom’s brother and sister, Aunt Sally and Uncle Jack. As far
as I knew, Mom hadn’t seen them in at least a decade. When I pitched them on
the idea, they both liked it. I even said I’d be happy to pick up the plane
tickets and hotel, which they flatly refused but appreciated nonetheless. I
insisted I’d pay for dinner though.
The plan was they (and Jin)
would arrive Friday night. On Saturday, Mom’s birthday, Debbie and I would go
get Mom under the guise that we were going to take her to a new restaurant out
by our place (true). Mom never drove anywhere more than a mile on her own, so
that part of the plan was foolproof.
Meanwhile, everyone at the
house got the place ready with balloons and a poster of old pictures of Mom. At
the appropriate time, everyone would come out to surprise Mom.
On the drive over, Debbie
said she had something she had to get at the house, and when we showed up,
Scott and Shani were in the driveway to greet us. That was a nice surprise for
Mom but not too much of a surprise. They lived only a two-hour drive away. It
would make sense that they might be there for a birthday dinner.
But when we walked in, Mom
saw the poster and flowers on the table and knew something was up, but before
she could say anything, Jin popped around the corner from the dining room,
saying, “Happy Birthday!” Well, Mom wasn’t expecting that, and I could see her
grip Jin tight.
But then Jack and Sally came
around the corner, and I thought Mom was going to have a heart attack. She was
crying. Jack and Sally were crying. Pictures were being snapped wildly, and I
was grinning from ear to ear. I pulled off my birthday scheme, and it went over
HUGE.
It was such an excellent
surprise for Mom. To this day, I don’t think I ever have seen her as happy as she
was then. That’s both great and sad at the same time.
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