âBriana, whatâs wrong? Is it Nealie?â
âOh, Josh, sheâs sick. She might beâso sick.â
He had the sensation of falling toward a devouring darkness. âHow sick? Is she in the hospital?â
âI donât know how sick. Itâs in the early stages. She doesnât know yet. Nobody knows.â
âWhatâs wrong with her?â Damn, his hands were shaking. His hands never shook.
âItâs aâan anemia,â she stammered. âItâs very rare. Andâand serious.â
âWhat can I do?â He sat on the edge of the bathtub, his head down. He felt as if he was going to pass out.
She seemed to pull herself together, but she still sounded shattered. âCan you come home? I mean come here?â
âIâll be there as soon as I can. Iâll get on the first flight out. But what can we do for her?â
âOh, Josh,â she said, despair naked in her voice, âIâve thought and thought. I think thereâs only one thing. One thing in the world.â
âWhat? Iâll do anything. You know that."
She was silent a long moment. He knew she was having trouble speaking. At last she whispered, âTo save her, I think we have to have another baby.â
Dear Reader,
âIndividuals in every generation must decide what they will preserve for those who follow.â
Those are the opening words of a fine book, The Heirloom Gardener by Carolyn Jabs. I bought two copies of this book, one for me and one for my dad.
My father taught me that to see a seed sprout, grow and change was a miracle. The Baby Gift is a story about miracles and how, in our time, miracles can get mixed up with science.
About the science, I tried to be accurate, but I have probably made errors, and for this I apologize. As for the art of growing things, I turned to the wonderful organization called Seed Savers. What I got right is due to them and the delightful Lyn Jabs. What I got wrong, I got wrong on my own, drat it.
Growing heirloom vegetables is a lovely and rewarding (and, okay, delicious) pastime. Anyone who would like more information about heirloom gardening can contact The Seed Savers Exchange, 3076 North Winn Road, Decorah, Iowa 52101. On the Internet, you can find information at www.seedsavers.org
Best wishes,
Bethany Campbell
THE LITTLE GIRL dreamed of her daddy.
He was the handsomest daddy in the world and the funniest and the smartestâhe knew things that nobody elseâs daddy knew.
He knew, for instance, how to escape from a giant octopus.
The little girl lived hundreds of miles from any ocean, she had never seen the ocean or an octopus, but still, she wondered about situations like this.
âThe thing to do is not to panic,â her daddy said. âIf an octopus grabs you and wants to eat you, just stay calm.â
âCalm?â she said dubiously.
âBetween his eyes the octopus has a bump like a wart. Surprise himâbite his wart!â
âYuck!â said the little girl.
âNo,â her father said, tapping her temple. âItâs using your smarts. All the octopusâs nerves are centered in that bump. When it hurts, he drops you and swims off fast as he can. Heâll never want to see you again.â
âWell,â she said with a thoughtful frown, âwhat if a giant clam grabs my foot and wonât let go?â
âAh,â said Daddy, âthatâs why you always carry a knife when you dive. If a giant clam snaps shut on you, cut his hinge. Snip-snip, youâre free. And heâs learned his lesson.â
âWill it kill him?â she asked. She wanted only to escape the clam, not murder it.
Her father shook his head. âNo. Heâll have to lie low and grow his hinge back. Of course, some sand may drift in his shell, so maybe heâll make a giant pearl while heâs waiting.â
âHmm,â said the little girl. âWell, what about crocodiles?â
âEasiest of all,â said her daddy. âThe crocodile has all sorts of muscles to snap his mouth shut. But heâs got very weak muscles to open it up. Grab him by the snoot when his mouth is closed. Then he canât open it.â
âThen what?â
âThen move him someplace where he wonât bite people and where the hunters wonât get him.â
âWhy would hunters want him?â
âTo make wallets and suitcases and watch straps out of him. Itâs a sad fate, becoming a watch strap.â
âMm,â said the little girl. Then, as dreams do, hers drifted off. She was on an imaginary seashore, warm with caressing breezes. There, she and her faithful partner, Zorro the cat, stalked crocodiles. She was not afraid, because her daddy had taught her how to escape all dangers.
She strode across the sand, as fearless and strong as her father was. The sky was blue, the sun shone down with tropic brightness, and she moved, safe and invincible, through a world of eternal summer.