Was This Baby Planned?

I don't know why, but for some reason this evening I was remembering a conversation with the doctor I went to to find out if I was pregnant the first time, back in 1978. We lived in a college town, Ithaca, NY, at the time.

I went to the doctor and did the pregnancy test. He told me it was positive. Then he asked me, "Was this a planned pregnancy?" I just said, "Yes," but thought that it was kind of a strange question, since it was actually none of his business whether this baby was planned or not. But when I got home I realized he was asking me if I wanted an abortion.

I didn't go back to him for prenatal care.

I also remember going to an expatriate doctor in the Solomon Islands when I was first pregnant with child #3. She started scolding me for having too many children too close together. That really made me mad, since that child too was planned, and it was none of her business even if it weren't. I didn't go back to her for prenatal care either.

Hmm, like I said, I don't know why I was thinking of this ancient history tonight.

Is it Gleaning, Scrounging, or Stealing?

There are three pecan trees growing along the sidewalk at the entrance to my neighborhood. I walk past them every day when I go to the office. Sometimes I stop and pull some weeds out of the nearby flower beds which usually look pretty bad due to neglect.

Now it is pecan season, so each time I walk by I stop and pick up a few pecans that have fallen to the ground. It looks like we're going to have a bumper crop this year. Then I come home and crack a few at a time and try not to eat them all so I can have some for later.

Probably somebody legally owns these trees, but no one seems to emotionally own them or the flowerbeds. I'm going to set that issue aside and just try to get to some of these lovely pecans before the squirrels do.

Further Proof of Global Warming

It is October, and there is both papaya and a mango seedling growing in my compost pile.

The mango actually got fried a few weeks ago with the scorching sun and the top leaves fell off.