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The observance of Mother's Day can be traced back to spring celebrations in ancient Greece, in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the middle ages the custom evolved in England to honor mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy, and would often live with their employers, sometimes quite a distance from their own homes. On "Mothering Sunday" the servants were given the day off and were encouraged to return home to spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, a mothering cake, was taken along to add a special touch to the celebration.

Mother's Day has been celebrated in some form since the late-1800s in the United States. It received national recognition on May 9, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution of Congress recommending that there be a day of national observance.

Now annually on the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day will be observed May 9 this year, the anniversary date of the signing of the resolution. As our tribute to Mother's Day, this issue of the Alumnus includes an interview with Dorothy Mengering, mother of one of America's favorite sons, David Letterman. Letterman, who graduated in 1970 from Ball State, is a mainstay of late-night television, hosting his own award-winning show for more than two decades.

Through her wit and wisdom, Dave's Mom shares a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her experience and expertise in raising her family, while staying grounded and having fun along the way.

Meteorologists are busy at this time of year, observing and reporting about the occurrence of severe weather, especially in the Midwest. Storms, high winds, and tornadoes are prevalent, particularly in Indiana. Ball State, under the direction of Associate Professor David Arnold from the Department of Geography, is answering the call to keep individuals informed about the weather. Through a mini-class he teaches to community weather enthusiasts, Arnold instructs his students about techniques in spotting dangerous storms, providing important, potentially life-saving information. In addition to that course, Arnold annually takes a student storm-chase team to the Great Plains to observe and study inclement weather.

In our lead story, we take a three-pronged approach to providing information about nutrition and its effects on our lifestyle. A brief look at selecting proper food, including meat and produce that is naturally grown, leads us to a second part of the equation that includes balancing diets for healthy living. In our third segment, we interview one of our alumni, Katherine Ross, who overcame bulimia and now successfully leads a healthy lifestyle. After several years of living with her eating disorder, Ross began her road to recovery in 1995, the year she graduated from Ball State. She promised her mom, as a Mother's Day gift, to overcome her bulimia and begin a healthy living regimen. 

There is much more in this May issue of the Alumnus. We hope you will enjoy it, cover-to-cover.