In other news 'Mean
mom' sells son's car after misdeed
Wed Jan 9, 5:39 PM ET
DES MOINES, Iowa - Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "meanest
mom on the planet." After finding alcohol in her son's car, she
decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with
everyone by placing an ad in the local newspaper.
The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who
obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for
three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze
under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the
planet."
Hambleton has heard from people besides interested buyers since
recently placing the ad in The Des Moines Register.
The 48-year-old from Fort Dodge says she has fielded more than 70
telephone calls from emergency room technicians, nurses, school
counselors and even a Georgia man who wanted to congratulate
her.
"The ad cost a fortune, but you know what? I'm telling people what
happened here," Hambleton says. "I'm not just gonna put the car for
resale when there's nothing wrong with it, except the driver made a
dumb decision.
"It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people
saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far
there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict.
You're real overboard, lady.'"
The only critic is her son, who Hambleton says is "very, very
unhappy" with the ad and claims the alcohol was left by a
passenger.
Hambleton believes her son but has decided mercy isn't the best
policy in this case. She says she set two rules when she bought the
car at Thanksgiving: No booze, and always keep it locked.
The car has been sold, but Hambleton says she will continue the ad
for another week just for the feedback.
