The Trash Can

This is not a story or report of any kind.  In fact, it's just an opinion.  It's an opinion to add fuel to the fire of a debate that's been in place since a supreme court ruling many years ago.  Some of you will agree and some of you will disagree.  Yet, I believe this would end the argument at the basic local level where it deserves to be ended.  The debate centers on the right to choose versus the right to life.  Let the yelling begin.

I must confess I will never have a body that will ever reproduce.  I am a man. (Hold your relieved exhalations to a minimum)  So, for some of you, you say that my opinion is invalid.  I would have to disagree.  My opinion would have mattered prior to my birth.  And it still does.  I do realize that the choice to undergo an abortion is perhaps the hardest choice any woman or couple would ever have to make - for many of us.  The ramifications are extraordinary and final.  There is no undoing what get's done.  It's permanent.  For some, it is made as young teens.  For many, the ability to drive a car in a licensed way, or obtain alcohol or cigarettes is regulated by the state but the ability to abort a fetus seems to be a constitutional right (the argument thrown out in most discussions) that covers those younger than the age to drive or drink or smoke.  The living status of an unborn fetus seems to sit lower on the scale of importance in that regard.  We call ourselves a civilized society but this does seem to spit in the face of morality versus a person's choice in respect to their body.  Once that life is created (some argument seems to protrude on this issue) it cannot be reversed.  A sperm fertilizing an egg is the initialization of life.  To say that life begins after birth is a comparison to a car leaving an automobile factory versus a windshield wiper sitting in an auto parts store.  It's one that should not be made lightly.  So when does a car become a car?  Is it merely at the drawing board of some artist?  Does a car begin when the parts are designed and engineered?  Or is it only a car when it leaves a car lot with an owner behind the wheel?  The discussion could go on and on but I dare say that a baby is complete in being labeled alive once the genetic fabric has been sewn in two after conception takes place.  The human form or life has a code written down that can change through mutation or responses to outside disruption from chemicals or radiation or disease but the baby is a completely mapped out genetic being from the moment of fertilization. The eye color is fixed.  The sex is fixed.  Yes, we can argue about chromosomes and the changes in form during the gestation period in the womb but one could argue, and rightly so, that the fetus will become what it was meant to become.  A blond female with brown eyes is still a living creature even if she started out with green eyes in the womb.   I would have to say a fetus is a living person in the womb as defined through the parameters of mental and moral accountability. Some would argue that a chicken egg thrown against wall is the equivalent of aborting a human fetus.  I disagree.  That chicken egg, if alive, is still alive.  We are not the chicken or rooster that started that life.  Our moral code does not hold that egg in the same standing as a human baby. Throw a two year old against a wall and the world will throw you in jail.  Throw a chicken against a wall and someone will ask if you're trying to tenderize your supper.  Children are not raised on farms for their nutritional value, are they?  The rationality of the chicken egg versus the fetus is invalid.  So what do we do as a society?  I know the answer does not exist in throwing a fetus' against the wall.

I believe, in my opinion, that a ruling by the supreme court of the United States, cannot choose whether a human life begins in the uterus versus a two year old child.  Some laws of science cannot be adapted for legislative or judicial rulings while others are ignored.  The term "life" has a different meaning for everyone but I do believe that life is as complete for a fetus versus a birthed human.  The potential exists whether a fetus has left the womb.  There is a connection between mother and child.  There is an individuality for that fetus or fetus' in the case of multiple fertilization(s) such as twins or triplets.  One cannot kill off a twin because the other is a duplicate in genetic code can they?  They are individuals with potential for good or evil.  They are individuals with the potential for happiness or sadness.  They are individuals regardless of the hardship or trouble they may bring to the woman (or couple) deciding to neutralize the fetus.  Fetus is such a cold and sanitary word.  I prefer the term "baby".  Whether a couple wants the child or a single mother doesn't, does not change what is growing in the womb.  Once the first cell splits - it's life.  And it cannot be stopped.  Even in its basic form, a fertilized egg has stopped just being an egg and has become something more.  And even from that first second of fertilization to the last dying breath of that man or woman, a human it is.

The only answer I can see at the moment is full disclosure to any potential woman or couple arriving at an abortion facility.  A short video.  The footage could show in its first half the trauma and birth of a successful birth.  The second half could be footage of an actual abortion procedure.  With our current laws and findings in the courts it would seem to be up to the individual carrying the unborn child in determining the fate of the continued life of that fetus.  I believe every woman should be given the full ramifications of their decision.  It is about the children.  No matter what stage.  Or simply make it a law that any patient of a abortion procedure must view the trash can filled with the remains of the previous customer of the doctor's handiwork. I believe the "choice" would result in fewer "statistics".  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  Please email me if you feel the need - rueuhy@gmail.com  

Nickel T

Nickel T (Part one)


Jimmy was late. But that was pretty much a given on any day of the week. But today he was extraordinarily late.  "Two hours!!" Sammi hissed under her breath.  She had known Jimmy for most of her life.  If you could call it a life.  Jimmy was always the reliable one.  Even if he was late a majority of the time.  But this time something wasn't right. She could sense it.  Heck, she could smell it. "Freakin' Jimmy!!"  This time she didn't bother with pretenses.  The bum sitting by the dumpster took notice.  As Sammi cursed Jimmy, the bum actually turned his head.  "Oh, I thought you were seriously dead." Sammi yelled to the frightened man.  "Not today." he answered and fell back to sleep.  Sammi and Jimmy always joked about Two Fingers, their own unique name for the corpse who slept by the back door of Johnny's - the pub owned by Sammi's father.  It was a simple name based upon the homeless man's unfortunate accident two years ago.  Sammi reflected upon the accident she had pieced together from the hospital staff. Two Fingers was snoozin' in his usual spot but had hidden himself unknowingly from the sanitation workers.  The garbage truck had backed up to the dumpster but the dumpster had rolled back a few inches.  Unfortunately, Two Fingers had placed his hand down by the wheel of the full dumpster.  When the driver of the truck finally heard the screams coming from the unfortunate victim, the permanent damage had been done to Two Fingers hand.  The surgeon on call at the hospital had repaired his hand the best he could but the fingers on his left hand were crushed so thoroughly that no surgeon could have saved them.  The hospital removed the crushed digits and Two Fingers reclaimed his spot by the dumpster.  A sudden commotion jarred Sammi back to reality.  On the other side of the alley a man and woman were beginning a fight.  As the voices grew louder Sammi recognized the couple.  The Clintons lived a couple blocks away and didn't usually venture down this alley.  Actually, they were rarely seen after 8 o'clock at night.  An elderly couple - retired.  The couple had sold their shop when the newest franchise had opened down the street.  Sammi remembered how lost they had looked for a few months.  Mr. Clinton loved his customers and Mrs. Clinton always had a sincere smile for each one who walked through the door of the drugstore.  Sammi could remember running through their door after school for the candy always within reach below the front counter.  In all the years she had come in the doors of the little store she could never remember an unkind word from either of the Clintons.  Which was totally different then what she was witnessing now.  "What's she holding?" Sammi thought to herself.  In the darkness she could barely make out the image of a soup can Mrs. Clinton was holding.  After a few moments it became obvious that something was very wrong in the Clinton household.  As Sammi listened to the two arguing, she became unnerved at the words she was hearing.  Through bits and pieces she could hear the uncertainty in both their voices.  After 40 years of owning a shop and demonstrating the rarest display of love and affection uncommon in this day and age, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were arguing like strangers.  Mrs. Clinton didn't understand why "this" man wanted her soup so bad.  And Mr. Clinton wanted to know why "this" woman was in his kitchen in the first place.  And he was yelling about some dog that he needed to feed but she wouldn't tell him where she had hid him.  It was the soup can that worried Sammi the most.  As her sight gained a better hold of the couple she could make out the cut on Mr. Clinton's forehead.  And as Mrs. Clinton waved the can around, Sammi could make out the stain on the paper label.  The Clintons were not going to be okay after this.  As the argument continued, Sammi felt alone in the alley.  Alone and scared.

Part two of Nickel T will be published in the near future.  Please wait anxiously.  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog. For questions or ideas please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com

Public Service Announcement

I have written about time in several blog posts prior to this one.  The relationship we have with time and the abundance or lack of time.  We are all bound to it with no say in the matter.  From songs - "Too much time on my hands" courtesy of the Styx to novels centered on a set time - "1984".  I have also said time is our best friend and worst enemy.  But this post isn't about time.  Actually it's about a single decision all of us have made, more than likely.  Now, before I tell you what that decision is, let me describe the fear and trepidation some of you, and myself included, have felt prior to making that choice.  For me, and many of you, we find ourselves alone in our thoughts and perhaps we're using a laptop.  Or even our own P.D.A - personal data assistant.  We call them smartphones now.   But, whatever the device of choice, our experience is usually by ourselves.  You're wasting a little time and you're on your favorite website.  With no regard to your agenda, a brief message appears.  Now, it is at this point in our story that we feel our heart skip a beat or two.  And suddenly we are faced with a decision.  And that's when the questions begin in our conscious mind.  How will this effect me in my daily life?  Am I comfortable enough with who I am and do I want the challenges this decision could bring?  Will this decision come back to haunt me or will it have little consequence to my normal order of things?  What would God say?  Am I really the right person to even answer this question?  Is it about me or my ex?  Am I stable enough to endure the countless other questions this one question means in my life?   How did they even find me?  The questions we ask ourselves could be infinite in number but I would dare say that most of us have made the decision and it really doesn't effect us in the magnitude we were expecting.  In fact, after we make the decision we continue on with our curious little browsing using our browser of choice.  But be warned.  Today you may to face such a decision.  And you will not be alone.  For Facebook has it's steely tentacles in your life and today you may get that friend request you weren't expecting.  And thus, in the stillness of your living room (or let's be honest - the bathroom), you will be faced with the question.  And you will have to decide if that friend request is right for you.  It's the world we live in. It's the world Mark Zuckerberg has tangled for us in a web of half truths and deception.  Are we brave enough to allow another to peer into our fantasy world we have meticulously created?  A world known as ... (enter your name here)'s facebook page.  Only you can rule your destiny.  You and the number of friends you've allowed to join.  It's your fate.  What will you do?  My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.  For answers to all your questions please email me at rueuhy@gmail.com