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Example:
Origins: While both Dear Abby = and Ann=20 Landers have run the above-quoted item in their columns, neither = of those=20 famous advice-givers is its author. (Indeed, Dear Abby's 1994 = airing of=20 the item stated: "I hope the author will identify himself (or = herself) and=20 claim the This work of=20 satire was penned by Roslyn South and appeared in a 1957 issue of = The=20 American Mercury, a widely-read (albeit at times = controversial)=20 magazine published between 1924 and 1981. The sub-heading South = bestowed=20 upon her "Pity the Childless Couple" article reveals the item's=20 tongue-in-cheek intent: "Musings of a good While what currently circulates as "Pity the = Childless=20 Couple" still greatly resembles the 1957 original, a number of = subsequent=20 alterations have significantly altered its original tone: the = wording of a=20 number of its sentences has been changed slightly, a few sentences = and=20 phrases have been dropped entirely from some paragraphs, and the = following=20 key section (which originally appeared between the "Everyone = should have=20 children" and "How dismal is the peaceful home" paragraphs) has = been=20 elided: Then comes =
the real=20
fulfillment as the children grow like little acorns and become =
real nuts.=20
The wonder of watching your overweight ballerina of twelve make a =
fool of=20
herself in a leotard. The warm smile of a small lad with the sun=20
glistening on Also, this paragraph:
A = married=20 couple without little ones envy their neighbor's bairn. It isn't = enough to=20 be god-parents to the entire block, they still miss out on that = glorious=20 period of childhood that is alive, exuberant and bursting with = healthy=20 impulses to shatter the shredded nerves. I pity the couple = without=20 children to brighten the cocktail hour by brushing the martini = from the=20 shaking hand, to massage the potato chips into the rug and to = wrestle them=20 for the olive. Think back =
to the=20
night of romantic adventure when your budding daughter eloped with =
the=20
village idiot. What childless couple ever shared in the stark =
realism of=20
that drama? Aren't you a better man for having lived richly, =
fully,=20
acquiring that tic in your left eye? Could a woman without =
children touch=20
the strength and heroism of your wife as she tried to fling =
herself out of=20
the bedroom window? lost the portion that completed =
it in=20
1957:
It takes a =
father to=20
attain the stature of standing by, resolute and Finally, the =
article's=20
closing line:
If they had =
had kids,=20
they'd look like the rest of read as follows in the 1957 original: =
If they'd =
had kids=20
they'd look like the rest of While most=20
readers accept the piece as a humorous commentary on the downside =
of=20
parenting, some see it as a cruel commentary on the plight of =
those who=20
are childless, but not by choice. After publishing the item in her =
column=20
in 1994, Dear Abby received these comments from some of her =
readers: DEAR ABBY: =
Regarding=20
the pathetic attempt at humor by the author of The Childless =
Couple, I=20
reply with a different perspective. The negative reaction the item =
provoked=20
might have been due in part to the use of the word "childless," a =
word=20
that has since come to carry a sad I've been married for = 11 years=20 and have had My spouse=20 and I don't sun ourselves in Florida as the piece suggested. We = can't=20 afford to we've spent all our money on fertility testing and = surgical=20 procedures, trying to correct the problem that prevents us from = being=20 parents. So, here's the author's kind of humor back at him = or her:=20 May all your children die in a horrible accident on their way to = visit=20 you. Then you, too, will have a glimpse of the heartache of = childlessness.=20 You think that's morbid humor? Touch=E9. - A Childless = Couple In=20 Oregon =20 What made you think your readers would appreciate a piece as = cruel as=20 the one you published titled The Childless Couple ? Abby, = there is=20 nothing sadder than a childless couple, especially a couple who=20 desperately wants to have a child but cannot or a couple who is = childless=20 because their only child has died. We who have children = may find=20 humor in the scenarios, but what about those who did not choose to = be=20 childless? They would welcome the sleepless nights, diaper rash, = and=20 never-ending crises most parents have experienced. If you haven't = walked=20 in their shoes, you can't possibly understand the pain of praying = for a=20 child and never having that prayer answered. - = Compassionate=20 Parent Who Aches For Those Less Fortunate =20 DEAR ABBY: There are many of us who are childless NOT by = choice. Have=20 you ever stopped to think of what our lives might be like? Yes, = you might=20 see us relaxing around swimming pools in Florida or trotting off = to Europe=20 like lonesome fools, but have you ever stopped to consider that we = might=20 be attempting to escape loneliness, the loneliness that the void = of=20 childlessness has created in our lives? It is very easy to = cast=20 judgment on others, but I suggest before you do that, you walk in = our=20 shoes. The saddest part of my day is when I hear the endless = complaints=20 some people make about their children. This is the injustice of it = all:=20 You are blessed with gifts from God your children yet you do = nothing but=20 complain of the responsibility, cost, problems, etc. Well, = be=20 thankful for your blessings, because you might just raise children = who=20 will be childless by choice because of your actions as parents. = -=20 Childless In Houston In 1957, "childless" was the preferred = term for=20 (married) adults who were not parents. English usage has since = evolved to=20 apply the term "childfree" to those who neither have children nor = want=20 any, while "childless" is generally applied to those who would = dearly like=20 to have children but have been thwarted in their hopes by = circumstances=20 beyond their control. Yet the word "childfree" also has = its=20 pitfalls, because the "-free" suffix implies to some that children = are=20 something so noxious or unhealthy that sensible people would want = eschew=20 them It's=20 possible there may never be a good solution as to what to call = everyone.=20 Barbara "a parent dilemma" Mikkelson Last updated: 2 June 2008 = Urban = Legends=20 Reference Pages =A9 1995-2008 by snopes.com. This material may = not be=20 reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo = are=20 registered service marks of snopes.com. ![3DSources=20](3D"http://www.snopes.com/common/referenc.gif") =20
Sources: =
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Take the Kidfree Survey Make your voice heard in this worldwide survey = for=20 childfree!www.tinyurl.com/2lcjah
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