My Mom Is So Berkeley ...

My Mom Is So Berkeley

One-Liner Childhoods

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/us/19sfbriefs.html

By RICHARD C. PADDOCK
Published: March 18, 2010

A new Facebook group was formed last summer, well before
"Parenthood," a television series set in Berkeley, made its debut on
NBC this month. The group, called "Your Mom Is So Berkeley," began as
an inside joke among friends who grew up there and came up with
one-liners about Berkeley mothers, said Roberto Santiago, 33, the
page's creator.
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"Your mom is so Berkeley she'll sign anything given to her outside a
grocery store," Mr. Santiago wrote in an early post.

Hundreds of people joined in as the group evolved into a place where
Berkeley's sons and daughters reminisce about growing up in the
ultimate counterculture community.

The group has more than 1,160 members ­ many still remember their
family's co-op number ­ and more than 750 posts, some of which are
below. (Almost all begin "My mom is so Berkeley ..." A few have been
condensed. )
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FOOD AND FASHION

For Halloween one year, she handed out bananas. YIGA JOSAYMA

She grounded me for eating McDonald's but not for smoking weed. JED BROWN

She made us drink lumpy, instant nonfat powdered milk to protect us
from radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear testing. RACHEL BLAU

The first time I saw a bowl of table grapes I had a panic attack. KOKO MULDER

She used to volunteer in my classroom wearing men's work boots. ANNELISE LOE

CHILD-REARING

I was born at home on homemade tie-dyed sheets. MIWA SOTO

She drew braids on Babar, so she could show a woman (O.K., a female
elephant) in a leadership role. LISA KINGSTONE

Since I wasn't allowed to have a Barbie doll, she gave me a doll made
out of mud from Africa. JILLIAN HOPEWELL

She was disappointed when I majored in neuroscience/pre-med. She kept
asking why I didn't want to become a painter. AMAYA KATHLEEN WEBSTER

RELATING TO THE WORLD AND THE COSMOS

Her social life used to consist of going with friends to get arrested
outside Livermore lab. CAROLYN McMILLAN

I had a nightmare that President Reagan was going to get me when I
was 5. GABY RAYMOND

When she was arrested for yelling at a cop over a parking violation,
she stayed overnight in jail just so she could have the "experience."
CYNTHIA WANG

When I asked her who God was, she told me he was kind of like a
'make-believe friend' that a lot of people had. Then she told me that
my make-believe friend was probably a better friend to have. TAMARA JACOBSON

THE FACEBOOK GROUP

I am such a Berkeley mom that I joined this group to see what my kids
are saying about me! ELIZABETH RAYMER

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