Aug 22, 2022·edited Aug 22, 2022Liked by Stacey Eskelin
Stacey, I definitely subscribe to the theory often ascribed to Warren Buffett, who declared years ago how lucky he was to win the "ovarian lottery," being born a) in the United States, when the odds against it when he was born in 1930 were 30 to 1; b) being born White; c) being born male. He told an interviewer, "I had two sisters that have every bit the intelligence that I had, have every bit the drive, but they didn’t have the same opportunities...f I had been a female, my life would have been entirely different.”
I'm not White, but I am male and I was born in the United States, in the second half of the 20th century. That feat, alone, means that for all the troubles people of color have in the States, and there are many and they are, seemingly, intractable, I was guaranteed to have a better life – one with less poverty, pain, degradation and suffering – than 99.99999 percent of all the people who have ever lived on Earth. And i don't take that for granted.
Dammit, you made me all emotional, reading that. Now I need a Kleenex, and I can't find one, and it's a whole thing.
I love everything you just said.
The work is not done yet, as we both know. I strongly feel there are too many white women who have lost the way, who are fighting against the cause, which is of course fighting against themselves. Black issues are female issues. One in the same. White feminists may have thrown their Black sisters under the bus in the past, but this new generation gives me great hope. I see real inclusion. They are the ones who will join causes, fight, and win. I can feel it in my bones.
It truly is a fantastic journey, and a beautiful analogy of spaces in time that trigger awe, bewilderment. Eyes and mind wide open, always! Now if I can only find the determination to trim some some fat from my meat suit!😜
If there's fat, YOU EARNED IT. You earned every damn pound. Every line, every wrinkle, we earn those by managing to stay alive this long--and staying alive isn't as easy as it looks.
HOLY MOLY, girl! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Oh, you put a big smile on my face. I love birthdays! I make John go all out, every year, poor man. He has every reason to dread them at this point, but not me. It's just another year they haven't managed to kill me. Yet.
I'm late to the post, but I just have to say that this one is a masterpiece of unique perspective and entertaining science writing. I have never seen a more striking, insightful, and detailed yet accessible accounting of human reproduction. You have brought into uncanny focus just how utterly improbable all of our very existences really are. We take for granted what's taken 100's of millions of years to perfect. You have made it clear that as numerous as we are, as seemingly unremarkable from others that we may be, we have nevertheless beaten the odds to even be here. This article is an ideal example of the adage that science is more amazing than religion. Immaculate Conception? Fuck that. The reality of human reproduction is a hell of a lot more awe inspiring; it's the magic without the toxic orthodoxy.
Oh, HELLO to the power of infinity! Love what you said and agree with it wholeheartedly. What fascinates me about the human body is just what a dramatic story is happening at every moment of our lives. It's downright Biblical. Devourings, beheadings, mauraders, birth, cellular division, it's all happening, and it's happening all the time.
And that's one of the things that those of us who read you love about you, that ability to see literary narratives in seemingly unrelated things; that's straight writer shit right there :--}
Funny, because I just bought a couple of lottery tickets. I've some grasp of the numbers. For comparison, over the course of any given year a person has 1 chance in 1,220,000 of being struck by lightning. How many people do you know that have been struck by lightning? But you've a better chance of being struck by lightning like 10 -- 30 times than of winning the lottery. I bought a couple of tickets anyway, because I like to fantasize about becoming a philanthropist.
"Even more astoundingly, you ... navigated this strange land by chemical markers and smell, swimming through a sloshing, gurgling fun-house of horrors in search of Oz." -- Jesus, sounds like fucking grad school.
Trying to decide if I want to attempt big name publishers with 12+ month wait times just to be told to fuck off, or smaller publishers with a slightly shorter wait time to be told to go try the big name publishers. Talk about the fucking lottery.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "Even more astoundingly, you ... navigated this strange land by chemical markers and smell, swimming through a sloshing, gurgling fun-house of horrors in search of Oz." -- Jesus, sounds like fucking grad school." I laughed so hard, I think I woke up poor John! Hoo boy, ain't that the truth?
I am increasingly turned off by the idea of publishing through ANY publishers at this point. Going solo ain't fun either, but at least we call the shots.
Add in the additional lottery of being born in the west post 1955. The small pox vaccine, antibiotics, polio vaccines were predominantly only available in the west. Birth rates were also against your making it. Western countries for the past 50 years have headed toward zero population growth.
Beautiful reminder when it feels like we’re slogging through the week! Thank you
Doesn't it just put it all in perspective?
Why would anyone ruin perfectly good biscuits with gravy??
Wait…I miss the whole point of this, didn’t I?? 😝
LOLOLOL! Trust me, I can ruin a lot of things.
Stacey, I definitely subscribe to the theory often ascribed to Warren Buffett, who declared years ago how lucky he was to win the "ovarian lottery," being born a) in the United States, when the odds against it when he was born in 1930 were 30 to 1; b) being born White; c) being born male. He told an interviewer, "I had two sisters that have every bit the intelligence that I had, have every bit the drive, but they didn’t have the same opportunities...f I had been a female, my life would have been entirely different.”
I'm not White, but I am male and I was born in the United States, in the second half of the 20th century. That feat, alone, means that for all the troubles people of color have in the States, and there are many and they are, seemingly, intractable, I was guaranteed to have a better life – one with less poverty, pain, degradation and suffering – than 99.99999 percent of all the people who have ever lived on Earth. And i don't take that for granted.
Dammit, you made me all emotional, reading that. Now I need a Kleenex, and I can't find one, and it's a whole thing.
I love everything you just said.
The work is not done yet, as we both know. I strongly feel there are too many white women who have lost the way, who are fighting against the cause, which is of course fighting against themselves. Black issues are female issues. One in the same. White feminists may have thrown their Black sisters under the bus in the past, but this new generation gives me great hope. I see real inclusion. They are the ones who will join causes, fight, and win. I can feel it in my bones.
Hope I live to see it.
It truly is a fantastic journey, and a beautiful analogy of spaces in time that trigger awe, bewilderment. Eyes and mind wide open, always! Now if I can only find the determination to trim some some fat from my meat suit!😜
If there's fat, YOU EARNED IT. You earned every damn pound. Every line, every wrinkle, we earn those by managing to stay alive this long--and staying alive isn't as easy as it looks.
I say there should be more fat.
Perfect essay for my birthday! (tomorrow) Incredibly well-written, as always :)
HOLY MOLY, girl! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Oh, you put a big smile on my face. I love birthdays! I make John go all out, every year, poor man. He has every reason to dread them at this point, but not me. It's just another year they haven't managed to kill me. Yet.
Thank you! Yes, big fun in Sin City!
I'm late to the post, but I just have to say that this one is a masterpiece of unique perspective and entertaining science writing. I have never seen a more striking, insightful, and detailed yet accessible accounting of human reproduction. You have brought into uncanny focus just how utterly improbable all of our very existences really are. We take for granted what's taken 100's of millions of years to perfect. You have made it clear that as numerous as we are, as seemingly unremarkable from others that we may be, we have nevertheless beaten the odds to even be here. This article is an ideal example of the adage that science is more amazing than religion. Immaculate Conception? Fuck that. The reality of human reproduction is a hell of a lot more awe inspiring; it's the magic without the toxic orthodoxy.
Oh, HELLO to the power of infinity! Love what you said and agree with it wholeheartedly. What fascinates me about the human body is just what a dramatic story is happening at every moment of our lives. It's downright Biblical. Devourings, beheadings, mauraders, birth, cellular division, it's all happening, and it's happening all the time.
I live for this stuff.
And that's one of the things that those of us who read you love about you, that ability to see literary narratives in seemingly unrelated things; that's straight writer shit right there :--}
Funny, because I just bought a couple of lottery tickets. I've some grasp of the numbers. For comparison, over the course of any given year a person has 1 chance in 1,220,000 of being struck by lightning. How many people do you know that have been struck by lightning? But you've a better chance of being struck by lightning like 10 -- 30 times than of winning the lottery. I bought a couple of tickets anyway, because I like to fantasize about becoming a philanthropist.
"Even more astoundingly, you ... navigated this strange land by chemical markers and smell, swimming through a sloshing, gurgling fun-house of horrors in search of Oz." -- Jesus, sounds like fucking grad school.
Trying to decide if I want to attempt big name publishers with 12+ month wait times just to be told to fuck off, or smaller publishers with a slightly shorter wait time to be told to go try the big name publishers. Talk about the fucking lottery.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "Even more astoundingly, you ... navigated this strange land by chemical markers and smell, swimming through a sloshing, gurgling fun-house of horrors in search of Oz." -- Jesus, sounds like fucking grad school." I laughed so hard, I think I woke up poor John! Hoo boy, ain't that the truth?
I am increasingly turned off by the idea of publishing through ANY publishers at this point. Going solo ain't fun either, but at least we call the shots.
I love this! Well put.
Oh, Barbara. How I wish I had your last name. It's the BEST last name, and so very very Italian.
Add in the additional lottery of being born in the west post 1955. The small pox vaccine, antibiotics, polio vaccines were predominantly only available in the west. Birth rates were also against your making it. Western countries for the past 50 years have headed toward zero population growth.