Initiative #26: Definition of 'Person'

Should the term "person" be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the equivalent thereof?

Today.  November 8, 2011.  This is the question before the people of the State of Mississippi.

Initiative #26 is drawing national attention, and is being hotly debated.

For me, it all boils down to one question.  One.

When does human life begin?

The Miriam Webster definition of "Kill"?  To deprive of life.

Here I have before me, on my desk, hand sanitizer on which is written, "Kills 99.99% of germs."

Kill - to deprive of life.

I find it sad that as a culture, we are willing to grant the status of life to germs, but not to a very unique bundle of DNA that will grow into what we recognize as a human being.  That tiny bundle of gametes now joined together as one with a single purpose: human life.

Human life begins at fertilization.

And if human life, a "person".

And that leaves me with one choice.  I must vote Yes.

Of course the opposition raises many arguments . . .  Forgive me if I feel they come across very much like scare tactics!

Initiative 26 could ban birth control.

Really?  All birth control?  The most common form of the pill, the combination pill, prevents ovulation.  No ovulation, no fertilization, no person.  Logically, that will not be banned, since it will not end a life.  Some other birth control methods could face some challenges, but I'm willing to risk that.

Initiative 26 bans abortions without exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother.

I think we've already established my belief that this is a human life.  This is a person.  It is fundamentally wrong to take a human life.  Rape and incest?  Despicable.  If a woman is raped and a week later kills her rapist (while he is causing her no further threat), she will be arrested for murder, but she can currently kill another human being, an innocent human being, a child, her child, with no legal repercussions.  Life of the mother?  We are establishing that this new life is a "person".  Every human being has the right to self defense.  If another "person" is threatening the mother's life, she has the right to protect herself.  This law does not infringe on that right.

Initiative 26 could ban in-vitro fertilization.

This will probably be the most legally challenging area of this legislation, and is the most personally challenging for me; however, this legislation will not automatically ban in-vitro fertilization.  There will be further legislation.  My conscience will not allow me to vote no based on this possibility alone.

I ask all citizens of Mississippi today.  Vote.  Vote what your conscience tells you is right, even if you oppose me.  But in doing so, make an informed decision.  Do not vote based on scare tactics.
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Fall Activities: 24th Annual Mississippi Pecan Festival

It's been three months!  Three months since I last regaled you with snippets from my life.

It's been three months, so here I go playing catch up.  Again.

September 24, 2011

My family loves to do things together, which is how 11 of us ended up traveling together to the 24th Annual Mississippi Pecan Festival last month.  Think tons of shopping, activities, and food in the middle of nowhere under a canopy of pecan trees.  It was great!

There were vendors selling everything, including some Amish with beautiful wagons.

They also had some benches.  Aaron chose to model on one for us.

Of course there was also farm equipment . . .

Then there were the authentic homesteads.  Papa and his sidekicks, Linzey, McKayla, and Aaron on the front steps of an old farm house.

Inside was an old bed with a beautiful quilt, and three monkeys, McKayla, Aaron, and Linzey.

And then off to see the farm animals, where goat petting is apparently all the rage!  The little ones, Cadence (partially hidden in her stroller), McKayla, Aaron, and Linzey, supervised by Heath, Nana, Papa, and Ellie.

What?  Petting goats not enough?  Well, lets see if we can find some horses!  Linzey (held by her Big Daddy, Jason), McKayla (held by Papa), Aaron (held by his Uncle Heath), and Candace and Carter walking toward another horse, no doubt.

And, here's Papa with his two grandsons, Carter and Aaron.

Of course when petting horses doesn't get the job done, the next thing that one must do is ride a pony!  Right?  In this case there were two ponies and two horses.  Aaron and McKayla got horses,

while Linzey and Carter rode together on a pony.

Then we stood back and enjoyed a little square dancing.  I hope more young people take an interest in this dance form.  It was beautiful to watch, but it was obvious that as a whole, unless more young people get involved, it is a dance form that will slowly fade away . . .

And we were off again . . . to see what a farmer can do with a border collie or three when he puts them to work!  

Of course after the work is done little voices pipe in, "I want to pet the doggie?"  So, Aaron and McKayla pet the "doggie."

 

The final event of the day for us?  The mule pull.  These were some bedecked and bedazzled creatures!

On the way out, we picked up our craft projects from earlier in the day.

Nothing left but the ride home . . . where one tuckered out little Aaron promptly fell asleep!

P.S.  Stay tuned to hear about my and Aaron's adventures in the corn maze!

A Few Fireworks

Independence Day Update - July 4, 2011

We began the day by waking to no air conditioning and rapidly rising temperatures.  Thankfully our A/C man was able to come out immediately.  The repair turned into a nearly all day affair, but at least we had air by bedtime, and in any case, that is not what I'm supposed to be writing about!  :-)

We celebrated in usual style at my parents' camp on the creek.  Hanging out with family, eating potluck lunch, with grilled burgers, steaks, etc.  Usually we play volleyball after lunch, but this year my dad is nursing a broken leg, and without him, it seems we just couldn't get into the volleyball spirit.  We did make our way to the water pretty quickly though.  We've had quite the drought this year (which it seems we're now making up for all at once), so the creek was really low.  This worked out quite well given the number of little ones in the water.  Everyone had a great time!

Nothing like playing in the dirt.

Yvette & David Nelson

Angie & Joshua Bernaldo

Ron & Aaron Farr (eating boiled peanuts)

Nancy Warden with nephew Tanner Colson

Aaron Farr

Ellie Williams & Janice Colson

Carter Colson (after playing in the dirt)

Three Cousins Ready for a Swim

Aaron Farr, Linzey Colson, McKayla Williams

A Creek Full of People

We then topped off the evening with fireworks.  Aaron saw fireworks on TV and LOVED them, so I showed him some I'd recorded, which he of course also loved.  So, I told Ron we had to take him to see live fireworks.  Fireworks were set to start at 9 pm, so I fed Aaron supper, bathed him, brushed his teeth, and dressed him in his bed clothes.  We left home at 8 pm (Aaron's normal bedtime), and he was sleeping just moments after getting on the road.  We arrived at the fireworks viewing site to find out shortly that fireworks had been postponed 'till 10 pm.  Well, Aaron was still asleep, so we relaxed.  This went well until someone set off fireworks nearby and woke Aaron.  Aaron then snuggled with Ron while waiting the last 15 minutes before fireworks began.

Ron & Aaron resting before the fireworks

Spring Blitz - Part 2: A Visit from Pepaw

I'm glad you don't hold your breath just waiting for me to update here, because if you did, I fear you'd all suffocate!  LOL  Afterall, it was two long weeks ago that I promised this update!

April 29 - May 3, 2011

My father-in-law lives in upstate New York, and had never visited the deep South until little more than a month ago.  His plane arrived after 10 pm on April 29th.  I thought about keeping Aaron up to watch the planes come in at the airport, but ultimately decided that we'd go ahead and get ourselves to bed and let Ron meet his dad alone.  The goal being, of course, to avoid a cranky toddler . . .

Our accommodations for the weekend were wonderful.  We stayed at my dad's camp on the creek.  Have you ever tried to get a toddler down for the night in a strange place?  Let's say the process goes less than smoothly.  When Ron and his dad arrived from the airport just after mid-night, guess who was still energetically awake to greet them . . .  Aaron . . .  Guess we should have taken him to the airport to watch the planes!  :-)

Back to our accommodations . . .  If you want a weekend away, this is definitely the place.  It comes with great views . . .

 Camp

 Front Porch View

 Front Porch View

 Front Porch View

 Front Porch View

Kitchen Window View - right through the screen

Our nearest neighbors were cows and a couple of alligators . . . which incidentally don't live in New York.  This makes for a very relaxing quiet weekend (alligators are NOT crocodiles and are generally not aggressive unless threatened).

We spent some time relaxing in the creek . . .

 Aaron on the sandbar

 Playing in the creek

We invited McKayla (my niece) to play with us.

The three generations took a minute to pose for a picture.

Sunday morning we went to church.  As we stopped at our place to grab a couple of things, Aaron and Pepaw hung out on the porch.

After church we drove out to Dauphin Island, AL where we visited a small park, then the estuarium.

On Monday Aaron and I returned to school and work.  Monday evening, Aaron and Pepaw said their goodbyes before bed.

Ron and his dad left in the wee morning hours of Tuesday morning for the airport.  The whole weekend was most enjoyable, and I hope Aaron was able to form memories, at even this young age, strong enough to last a lifetime!