The Autodidact

 Greetings and salutations to all from the Marino Famiglia!  God has been good to us this year, as always. Here are some highlights: Deb has reached a new high (literally) in her career. She is currently in training as a critical care team medic with the Cleveland Clinic. She will have to work on the ground initially, but ultimately hopes to be in the sky. Here, she is training in the whirly bird! She also works at a farm where her horse, Gypsy lives. She recently gave us a tour of the farm and introduced us to many animals. Lewis graduated Trooper Academy near the top of his class and is loving his career in law enforcement as an Ohio State Trooper. Apparently, cars are not the only vehicle that Troopers are responsible for. Lewis made the front page of his local paper! Lewis also got a chance to ride up in the sky with some Troopers to see what it's like up there. (The plane below, is NOT the one he was riding in). Margaret moved to sunny Arizona in July and is enjoying the warm

I've always been open and honest and factual with my 7 children about abortion. I have been as gentle as one can be describing a murder. Many of them cried when they first learned what it was; some stared at me in dumb disbelief.  It's a hot topic in May of 2022, hotter than usual. So, I explained what the debate currently raging is about- the possibility  SCOTUS might  overturn Roe V Wade. Of course, I had to delve into what the proper roles of the 3 branches of our government are- something many seem to be woefully unaware of.  At any rate, I fielded a question from the 13 year old that none of my other kids had asked at such a young age: "How do abortions work, exactly? How to they get the baby out?" I tried to tell him as tenderly as I could that a vacuum tube is placed in the uterus and the baby is torn into pieces so it can be sucked out. I left out the part about what they do to the bigger babies. His eyes got a strange look in them, one I had never seen before