Another Mother's Day gone – what did you get mom? By JIM SCHUH of The Gazette Mother's Day has come and gone. I hope you took a little time to remember your mother - even if she's no longer living. We owe so much to mothers. As a kid, I always gave my mother a gift on her special day. I probably started out with kitchen utensils. It seems normal for youngsters to want to give their moms something for the kitchen - a spatula, a paring knife, hot pads - even though today, many mothers don't spend all that much time cooking because they're in the workforce. Using a youngster's logic, a soup ladle or potato peeler seemed to be the right gift for mother - after all, she could use them and they don't cost much. Only in later years did I come to realize that while moms relished their child's act of giving, sometimes they weren't very excited by the form it took. After maturity took hold, my gifts to mom became personal items. WishClick, an on-line personal gift service, recently polled 500 American mothers between the ages of 28 and 44, and asked them about the gifts they receive. The survey showed almost 25 percent of them consider jewelry to be the best gift. More than one in six moms appreciated things their kids made for them, like hand-made cards and gifts. One in 20 enjoyed getting help with chores, or a day of rest. Four percent were pleased with trips to the spa, or beauty products. One mother said a riding lawn mower was the best gift she ever received, while another was ecstatic with an unusual gift from her family - a tip! WishClick said this year, help with chores topped the mothers' wish list, with jewelry coming in second. Dinner out or breakfast in bed, quality family time and flowers also made the list. What about the worst gifts? The Internet firm says insensitive or ill-thought-out presents made moms cringe. They included a carpet cleaner, a thigh-master (Mom, what big legs you have!), and a night out at a husband's favorite restaurant (Why not hers?). Others on the "no-no" list include kitchen appliances (A Salad Shooter reminds me of you, mom.), garden tools (I thought you'd like this tilling machine.) and cleaning supplies (I noticed you ran out of Windex.); dead and poorly arranged flowers (They looked better before we bought them 2 weeks ago and hid them under the bed.); and cookies and candies (Sorry, Fannie Farmer.). Fifteen percent of the moms surveyed said their worst gift ever was when their families forgot Mother's Day altogether. But moms, being the gentle loving people they are, do appreciate most gifts. In fact, almost half said anything their kids gave them was a good gift. It doesn't take much to please mom - it's the thought behind the gift she relishes. * * * Lions Clubs around the world assist people with vision problems. Club members are now collecting old eyeglasses, to help give poor people improved vision. The World Health Organization says that one in four people can experience improved sight by using corrective lenses. Millions are too poor to afford them. That's where you come in. You can make a dramatic difference in someone's life - a child or an adult - by donating a pair of unwanted eyeglasses. The Lions for Sight program is now in its fifth year. Lions members will accept all prescription and even non-prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses as long as they're in good condition. Children's eyeglasses are in especially high demand. If you have a pair or two of old glasses around the house, you can donate them to the Lions easily. Just contact a member of a local Lions club (there are at least nine Lions clubs in all parts of Portage County). If you don't know any Lions members, drop me a note and I'll see to it that someone gets back to you. Or you can call, toll-free 1-800-74-SIGHT for a drop-off location. * * * I've always been suspicious of a bottle of wine with a screw top. It screamed "cheap!" Somehow, it seemed to me that any wine worth its grapes should have a cork as a stopper. But that's no longer the case. It turns out that natural cork may harbor a fungus that can ruin the wine. 2, 4, 6-trichloroanisole is the culprit. Wine expert Robin Garr says it causes wine to pick up a dank, moldy aroma reminiscent of wet cardboard or a damp basement, and that one in 20 bottles might suffer that fate. Garr says crown caps, screw tops and synthetic corks don't cause that problem. But don't look for corks to disappear. Garr thinks the wine industry has lots of experimenting and marketing to do before dumping corks. Traditional wine lovers just have an attachment to cork, fungus or not. You may reach Jim Schuh at the Gazette, or by e-mail at jpschuh@excite.com.