Cord Byrd: “I thank my distinguished and able friend from Alabama. I thank him for his reference to Mother's Day. I do indeed have…”

“I thank my distinguished and able friend from Alabama. I thank him for his reference to Mother's Day. I do indeed have some remarks that I want to make in reference to Mother's Day. Mr. President, the irises are blooming, their beauty as refined as a Japanese print. Roses are spilling their sweet perfume into the air. A bountiful harvest of sweet, red strawberries is making its way into pies and shortcakes. The phones are busy at the florists around the country. The signs are clear that this coming Sunday the Nation will again observe the annual celebration of that great day, Mother's Day. Mother's Day is beloved by florists, by candy makers, by greeting card producers, by phone companies, and by restaurants, for it is a busy day indeed for them. But the day is also beloved by mothers, for it is on this one day, more than any other day, that they receive credit for their favorite and most important job. This coming Sunday, mothers will be showered with affection, waited upon, called upon, and honored. They deserve all of it, every bit of it. It is the little things that count And give a mother pleasure-- The things her children bring to her Which they so richly treasure . . . The picture that is smudged a bit With tiny fingerprints, The colored rock, the lightning bugs, The sticky peppermints; The ragged, bright bouquet of flowers A child brings, roots and all-- These things delight a mother's heart Although they seem quite small.…”