Great story as always, KC, with both sides of the issue weighed equally. These types of stories can really open minds. You are a master of this kind of drama. I think you have found your niche. Excellent work, man.
Wow, you are so kind, Parker. Thank you for pointing out my niche. I just write them the way I see them. Thanks, as well, for restacking. I appreciate the support.
It is pleasing to know you found something of interest in both characters and that you liked the story. I value you comments, Lee. Thank you for supporting me in that way and for restacking.
We so innocently, naively, get involved in situations when young. Our solutions to them are never clear and what we do stays, perhaps haunts us, forever. Real good, Ken, brings back memories.
So true, Ron. The abortion that happen twenty-five years earlier still had a hold on him. To reassure his daughter would have been to admit he didn't do enough to prevent that decades-old abotion. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. You always bring a unique perspective to my writing. I treasure that.
The father is aware of his lack of conviction. He just can't seem to help it. I think he is afraid of being proven wrong. The daughter certainly put him on the spot. Thank you for the comment, Ira. Your support is appreciated.
Such a sensitive issue, cousin. You made me empathize both with the father AND the girl. For some of us, there is no easy answer. For others, it is patently obvious and a no-brainer.
All the Sunday School teacher did was fill that kid with fear. As you say, they are too young to understand. Yes, two people made that baby, but one holds all the cards and bears the burden. Thank you for your thoughtful comment and kind words. Your support is appreciated, Sharon.
This is an emotive subject and rather complex for kids to get their heads around. When a child gets a moral bee in their bonnet, things can get fraught. I remember my 7-year-old daughter yelling at us at the dinner table that 'Meat is murder!' Great story KC, written with style and understanding.
Thank you for your generous words and thoughtful comment, Steve. What you say is true. Ten is awfully young to be exposed to the subject of abortion. Meat is murder; I hadn't heard that one before. Thanks,as well, for the restack. I appreciate your support.
This is a good write on a controversial subject. It's a personal point of view, for sure, but as you brought out, it was a woman's body so shouldn't the decision rest with her? I think it comes down to the individual couple it's happening to. I enjoyed the story, KC.
Touchy subject but I liked the way you handled it, K.C. The juxtaposition between Susan's black-and-white worldview with Will's more vacillated view and poor innocent Alice overwhelmed with a topic too potent for her young mind. An excellent story told with exacting sympathy!
Thank you, Jesse, for your thoughtful comment. Will tried to reassure Alice without making an outright commitment. After all, she had given him a hypothetical. But that wasn't good enough for the daughter. In the end, she demanded a commitment, and he was unable to provide one. I appreciate your support.
Will is, or at least used to be, a weak-willed man, relying on Susan to have some stability in life (on a side note, I'd argue it's hard to take a stand in a society where many moral questions are relative, or where the moral compass is calibrated to appease one's ego). That worked out well for him in the beginning of their relationship, it seems, but people grow, change, and begin to see all the gray areas in life, which can cause friction with people for whom everything is either black or white.
Which brings me to another thought - reading about Will and Susan's relationship, I had the impression it resembled war: two sides fighting over what's right (the vocabulary hinted at it too, e.g. "peace talks").
I think that in his heart of hearts, Will agrees with his daughter but is afraid to admit it so as not to emotionally/morally betray his wife. That makes him a spineless individual and, in my opinion, that's the true tragedy in this story. And let's not forget that Alice was the catalyst for Will's internal debate. He's lucky to have such a thoughtful and reflective daughter.
I loved the writing, too! It read so smoothly and I liked some of the descriptions, like the "sweating gin and tonic."
This was a riveting and compelling story, K.C! I'm glad I read it!
Thank you for your thoughtful summary of the issues raised in the story, Christopher. His daughter came to him for reassurance. He couldn't give it. That is a sad thing. I'm pleased that you found the story to be worth reading. Thank you for your support.
Dear K.C., this is an extremely tough read - but in a good way. I agree with the other comments on the dichotomy between the daughter's lack of nuance as well as the father's aversion to taking a stand
But what about the Sunday School teacher? If we view the daughter's black-and-white conviction as somehow immature and a result of being an 11-year-old, what does this imply about the Sunday School teacher?
And the question I've got to ask is - why do we treat unborn life as infinitely precious, but literally celebrate killing people half a world away? Why do we bang on about the sanctity of life and spend our time in electronic orgies of video game violence? Why does abortion sicken us, but our tax money makes literal music videos of people getting killed - and we're good with that. When we hope the homeless guy begging in the roadway median "goes away", where is our unshakeable belief that all life is sacred?
Maybe the Dad isn't weak. Perhaps he is just totally exhausted from living in a world of duplicity and can no longer face his own role in it.
You make a good point about society's contradictory views on the sanctity of life. The father has struggled to reconcile the contradictions since he was a college student. Maybe he is exhausted. Thank you for going beyond the story to reflect on the underlying issues, Mike. I enjoy your thoughtful commentary and appreciate the support.
Great story as always, KC, with both sides of the issue weighed equally. These types of stories can really open minds. You are a master of this kind of drama. I think you have found your niche. Excellent work, man.
Wow, you are so kind, Parker. Thank you for pointing out my niche. I just write them the way I see them. Thanks, as well, for restacking. I appreciate the support.
I liked this one. I got caught up in the father's dilemma and Alice's youthful inexperience. Nicely done.
It is pleasing to know you found something of interest in both characters and that you liked the story. I value you comments, Lee. Thank you for supporting me in that way and for restacking.
A tough story to write K.C. but you did it very well. - Jim
Thank you for your encouraging words, Jim. They mean a lot coming from you.
We so innocently, naively, get involved in situations when young. Our solutions to them are never clear and what we do stays, perhaps haunts us, forever. Real good, Ken, brings back memories.
So true, Ron. The abortion that happen twenty-five years earlier still had a hold on him. To reassure his daughter would have been to admit he didn't do enough to prevent that decades-old abotion. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. You always bring a unique perspective to my writing. I treasure that.
Wow KC.
Very powerful.
That said,
I think that Alice is "more of a man", than her father.
He is her dad.
He is wishy-washy about embracing any obligation to protect her.
The father is aware of his lack of conviction. He just can't seem to help it. I think he is afraid of being proven wrong. The daughter certainly put him on the spot. Thank you for the comment, Ira. Your support is appreciated.
Such a sensitive issue, cousin. You made me empathize both with the father AND the girl. For some of us, there is no easy answer. For others, it is patently obvious and a no-brainer.
I'm happy you found something sympathic in both characters, Sharron. That is what I hoped for. Thank you.
𝘼 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙆.𝘾.....𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣'𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚!
All the Sunday School teacher did was fill that kid with fear. As you say, they are too young to understand. Yes, two people made that baby, but one holds all the cards and bears the burden. Thank you for your thoughtful comment and kind words. Your support is appreciated, Sharon.
This is an emotive subject and rather complex for kids to get their heads around. When a child gets a moral bee in their bonnet, things can get fraught. I remember my 7-year-old daughter yelling at us at the dinner table that 'Meat is murder!' Great story KC, written with style and understanding.
Thank you for your generous words and thoughtful comment, Steve. What you say is true. Ten is awfully young to be exposed to the subject of abortion. Meat is murder; I hadn't heard that one before. Thanks,as well, for the restack. I appreciate your support.
You're welcome! Meat is murder was a UK meme some while ago
You're welcome! Meat is murder was a UK meme some while ago
This is a good write on a controversial subject. It's a personal point of view, for sure, but as you brought out, it was a woman's body so shouldn't the decision rest with her? I think it comes down to the individual couple it's happening to. I enjoyed the story, KC.
The MC was really arguing with himself. The daughter merely got the ball rolling. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the story, C.J.
Touchy subject but I liked the way you handled it, K.C. The juxtaposition between Susan's black-and-white worldview with Will's more vacillated view and poor innocent Alice overwhelmed with a topic too potent for her young mind. An excellent story told with exacting sympathy!
Thank you, Jesse, for your thoughtful comment. Will tried to reassure Alice without making an outright commitment. After all, she had given him a hypothetical. But that wasn't good enough for the daughter. In the end, she demanded a commitment, and he was unable to provide one. I appreciate your support.
First of all, this was a very powerful story!
Here are some of my thoughts:
Will is, or at least used to be, a weak-willed man, relying on Susan to have some stability in life (on a side note, I'd argue it's hard to take a stand in a society where many moral questions are relative, or where the moral compass is calibrated to appease one's ego). That worked out well for him in the beginning of their relationship, it seems, but people grow, change, and begin to see all the gray areas in life, which can cause friction with people for whom everything is either black or white.
Which brings me to another thought - reading about Will and Susan's relationship, I had the impression it resembled war: two sides fighting over what's right (the vocabulary hinted at it too, e.g. "peace talks").
I think that in his heart of hearts, Will agrees with his daughter but is afraid to admit it so as not to emotionally/morally betray his wife. That makes him a spineless individual and, in my opinion, that's the true tragedy in this story. And let's not forget that Alice was the catalyst for Will's internal debate. He's lucky to have such a thoughtful and reflective daughter.
I loved the writing, too! It read so smoothly and I liked some of the descriptions, like the "sweating gin and tonic."
This was a riveting and compelling story, K.C! I'm glad I read it!
Thank you for your thoughtful summary of the issues raised in the story, Christopher. His daughter came to him for reassurance. He couldn't give it. That is a sad thing. I'm pleased that you found the story to be worth reading. Thank you for your support.
Dear K.C., this is an extremely tough read - but in a good way. I agree with the other comments on the dichotomy between the daughter's lack of nuance as well as the father's aversion to taking a stand
But what about the Sunday School teacher? If we view the daughter's black-and-white conviction as somehow immature and a result of being an 11-year-old, what does this imply about the Sunday School teacher?
And the question I've got to ask is - why do we treat unborn life as infinitely precious, but literally celebrate killing people half a world away? Why do we bang on about the sanctity of life and spend our time in electronic orgies of video game violence? Why does abortion sicken us, but our tax money makes literal music videos of people getting killed - and we're good with that. When we hope the homeless guy begging in the roadway median "goes away", where is our unshakeable belief that all life is sacred?
Maybe the Dad isn't weak. Perhaps he is just totally exhausted from living in a world of duplicity and can no longer face his own role in it.
Peace, Mike
You make a good point about society's contradictory views on the sanctity of life. The father has struggled to reconcile the contradictions since he was a college student. Maybe he is exhausted. Thank you for going beyond the story to reflect on the underlying issues, Mike. I enjoy your thoughtful commentary and appreciate the support.