I am once again reminded to be grateful to my highschool for having enough gym options that I only had to do one semester of a team game. The rest of the time, I pretty much took weight training and tennis. I still sucked at tennis, but at least I wasn't letting anyone else down by it.

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Something about how your 20's or early 30's is the best time to have a baby, as the odds of getting pregnant drop off after that.

I have heard that fertility starts to drop around 27 (I heard it right around my 27th birthday, which is why I remember). Think I got that from the Globe.

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I'm not sure a kid's popularity or unpopularity necessarily correlates with ability to play dodge ball, or any sports activity.

No, but (and I'm totally willing to de-generalize my argument, and state that this is purely anecdotal information referable only to my grammar school) in a game like dodgeball, popularity or unpopularity can easily be made to correlate to whether you're a target of a hard ball or a soft one, where you stand in the outer circle after you're hit, and whether you ever get a chance to throw the ball yourself.

At my school, the ball was always given first to some bright shiny well-dressed kid, who then either (if a good athlete) drilled some un-shiny kid in the knees or (if not a good athlete) gently lobbed the ball to someone whom s/he knew to be a good athlete and able to drill (or tossed it lightly at a best friend, tagging out the friend, who would then go and stand at his/her side in the circle).

I can recall plenty of dodgeball games in which the unpopular kids didn't get more than two throws; in a group of 20, it's very easy for 15 to gang up on 5 and keep them from ever having control of the game, and very difficult for the 5 to wrest control away, even if all 15 suck and all 5 are superb athletes (which was never the case at my school).

Again, purely anecdotal, relevant to my grammar school experience only.

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It's also more dangerous for older women (late 30's and 40's) to have babies.

They called my pregnancies geriatric pregnancies because I was over 35. (38 & 40) No doubt I was more responsible about my medical care and physical behavior than I would have been in my 20's. The doctors made a big deal about it though.

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But my doctor did say that female fertility does drop significantly as you get into your 30's.

This is my personal hope, man.

I have heard that fertility starts to drop around 27 (I heard it right around my 27th birthday, which is why I remember). Think I got that from the Globe.

I shudder to imagine my life without contraceptives.

If the world were fair, there'd be a big, old fertility pool. Those of us who didn't need/want it, or no longer needed/wanted whatever of our fertility remains could donate to those in need. Children's fertility would be kept in the pool, until they reached the age of majority.

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I forget the name of the organization that did the ad, but I've seen something like it before. Is this some conservative religious thing?

Sort of a weird thing to harp on for a religious organization, though, right? Like, most religions with which I'm familiar don't care if you get married at 50, but they really don't want you having kids before you get married, most of them.

Of course, the only other organization I can think of that would care is, like, the Down Syndrome And Other Mutation Disorders Correlated to Mother's Age At Conception Fund, which, most of the time Down Syndrome organizations focus more on the kisd who are alive tahn the potential kids who might join their ranks.

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I'm still amazed that Adrienne Barbeau was able to conceive twins at 51.

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Was there medical assistance in the conception, Matt?

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Sort of a weird thing to harp on for a religious organization, though, right?

I wish I could remember what it was that I heard about this (it was a while back). But IIRC there are some religious conservatives who tell women stuff like this because they think women should be at home raising babies in their 20s instead of out in the workplace worrying about advancing their careers - because if they get too involved in the career track they may not get to have babies later.

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I'm probably the most extremely-to-the-right buffista in terms of the abortion issue, and even I'm horrified hearing about what people are doing to that poor girl.

Stands with Matt. I wholeheartedly agree. As JZ and others said before, where was everyone who was supposed to be concerned for her welfare before this happened? No thirteen-year-old child should be forced to carry a baby to term against her will, and the idea that she's going to be used as the center of a new! improved! debate about right to life is criminal.

But my doctor did say that female fertility does drop significantly as you get into your 30's.

This is my personal hope, man.

Right there with you.

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