WASHINGTON - Yesterday, she was the meanest Mum on the planet. Today, the coolest.
Ms Jane Hambleton, 48, gained a worshipful parental following when news of a classified ad she had placed in the Des Moines Register was picked up by the Associated Press.
The text of the ad: 'OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents, who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy Mum who needs to get a life found booze under front seat.
'US$3,700 (S$5,300) offer. Call meanest Mum on the planet.'
Sold! Ms Hambleton, a radio DJ in Fort Dodge, Iowa, received some 70 calls from buyers. And other parents. And emergency room workers. And school counsellors. And scores of others wanting to congratulate her for being so Dirty Harry-awesome.
'I don't think you can print what Steven said to me,' she said of her 19-year-old son. But they became instantly famous and appeared on Good Morning America, which got the television booking wars started. Today wanted them.
The Hambletons were about to book that when folks from Oprah Winfrey called, demanding exclusivity, so the family leaned towards that as Mum is a huge Oprah fan.
But then Ellen DeGeneres called. And while Mum likes Oprah, Steven loves Ellen, and Mum was inclined to give this one to her son, considering she had taken away his car and all.
All of which proved one thing: America needed this. Oh boy, did we need this kind of tough love, the kind that says: 'I am not your friend. I am your mother. Eat your peas. Now.'
The kind that says: 'I don't care what the other mothers are doing. I am not buying a pony keg for your party, even if I take away the keys to make sure your friends don't drive home plastered.'
For the record, Steven, a student at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, told his mother that the alcohol in the car did not belong to him, but to a friend.
For the record, Hambleton believed him. Nonetheless, it violated one of the two rules she had set when she bought him the car at Thanksgiving: No Booze and Keep It Locked.
Steven was originally 'very, very unhappy', the Register reported, but he and Mum seem to have patched things up. It's amazing what a free trip to New York can do.
As for the car, it was bought by a couple in Iowa who planned to give it to their 19-year-old son.
Ms Hambleton told the Register: 'I told the kid when they were leaving, 'Do not have any booze in that car. And if you do, don't hide it under the front seat'.'
