The fact of Life

One of the main issue of the abortion issue is when is the fetus human. Many believe it is at the exact time when sperm and egg unite and then given a soul, a totally human thing. Others believe it is only human when human forms are clear and distinctive. While othersbelieve it isn't a human until its out side and surviving by its own will. I just happen to believe, it becomes human when the sperm and egg join to become one and gets its soul. Like gas and fire, on there own without combination they are just things. Until they combined to make energy.

I had a interest talk one day with a old friend who was a avid gardener and often ask him for gardening advice. One day as he was planting in his garden I asked him what he was planting and he said tomato plants. (Now hold on to your salad dressing) I asked, what makes them tomato plants? How do you know you will get tomatoes from these plants? He looked at me funny and said they are tomato plants, I bought the seeds and planted them and cared for them to this stage to be planted. And when they mature I will get tomatoes from them. Reasonable logic right!

He went on to tell me about plant genetics and all that science chitz. Then I asked him when does a seed become a plant. He told me when just the right ingredients are blended: first you plant the seed in a pot, and planting medium, add water to penetrate its shell and this activates a chemical reaction and the plant begins its life. So I ask him, like when a woman get pregnant? He looked at me funny like, shook his head, laugh, though for a few seconds and said, yes, all the right ingredients were there to start a "brand" life.

This kind of reminded me of one day while out squirrel hunting on a beautiful October day when I sat down on this big old log to rest. As I sat there I began to study the ground floor in front of me. Just off to the right stood a huge oak tree laden with acorns so much it looked like layers of umbrellas drooping. I thought, there must be thousands of those little acorns hanging on that big old tree. I guess mated it to be maybe 200-250 years old. Then I looked around and studied the woods and there were a few other oak trees ranging from tiny little sprites on up of various sizes, but nothing to compare to this tree in size and production in acorns. Sure the deer, squirrels, and birds all take their share for food but I counted less then 30 other oak trees at various stages of growth, none came close to the size of this one. Then I thought how many bitter cold winters and scorching hot summers it went through over the years and forest fires as you could see the bottom bark of the big old oak tree had scars from burn-over. This tree first had to survive the hunger of all sorts of critters. Then it had to have the right conditions to root and begin to grow and survive year after year from deer browse, heat, cold, perhaps flooding and forest fires and other perils to get where it was that day. Over the years tramping through the woods I often past that old tree. One day, some twenty years after that memorial day while out looking for morrels I notice the tree was cut down, perhaps for round wood logs to make furniture or cord wood. A sadness came over me to see it gone. One day not long afterwards I came out with a friend and we sliced off a slab of the stump and I made a rustic table for my friend and ever time I went over to his place and saw it there in the corner it reminded me of that day and all the life it gave over its life span.
RD

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love
bp