All Comments on 'When We Get to San Francisco…'

Since it's been a while, I reread Grand Island, and noticed that it won a writers award.

I often wonder how some of the mediocre stories get this award here on Lit, but this one was well deserved, and the sequel...."San Fansisco" is of equal quality. This story was a wonderful addition to my morning coffee.

YDB95, I must echo Aeroiiel's good opinions of both 'Grand Island' and 'When We Get To San Francisco'.

Terrific imagineering, reasonably historically accurate, superb writing skill.

I hope the historical fiction I am working on can approach the humane emotions and character development displayed in both these stories.

I am encouraged to take the time to read through your other postings. I look forward to future stories from your keyboard.

Thanks for sharing this very entertaining read.

What a story. First, using a Harry Chapin song, I always wondered why more authors don't write about his songs, they almost beg to have stories written about them. Second, these two stories were very well written, I could feel the time period and the love between these 2 people. As with all good stories, I didn't want this to end - it was so poignant and loving at the same time. Thank you for a wonderful and entertaining story. A true romance tale.

Really a good story.

Very well described the situation of the 1920s in the USA, the controversy of opinions (which unfortunately continues today) on voluntary abortion. He did not know that in 1906 they marked the single mothers with the scarlet letter, he thought that these were things of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not the twentieth century. Great ending to this story, although it would have been nice if Frank had reconciled with his daughter Lorene.

5 * for you.

I apologize for my English (yet), is not my native language.

Folks, let me first say thank you, one and all, for your feedback. Whether positive or critical or both, I love hearing what people think of my work and I welcome it. I will also say I understand this particular story hits upon an extremely controversial issue on which many of us have very strong opinions (including me, as you've probably guessed after reading the story). For that reason, I know this story isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine.

That said, I will not tolerate anti-choice propaganda in my comments section. The belief that abortion causes psychological trauma and that women always come to regret it later on is nothing but propaganda. It simply isn't supported by any factual evidence. At worst, it sometimes happens because society at large makes women feel guilty about abortion: how would YOU feel if people on the street who knew nothing about your situation were calling you a murderer and an abomination? Probably rather depressed, but in no way does that prove abortion itself causes that depression.

"When We Get to San Francisco" is one of my efforts to fight back against that stigma on behalf of women who have had to make that difficult decision. I have made every effort to make it clear that it IS a difficult decision. That's why Mary is neither surprised nor pleased to see Louise: she knows a young woman is in dire straits and has nowhere else to turn to. As for what happens to Lorene after her abortion and what might have happened if her father had been able to thwart it, we don't know. What we DO know is that in real life, an awful lot of young women in her situation were thrown out of their families and left to raise their babies in poverty, or they died from botched abortions. It is extremely easy for Some Guy On The Internet to show up a hundred years later and say "If I were her father..."

Here's the thing: If you were her father, it would still be HER body, not yours, and even if you did right by her, that doesn't in any way mean other parents would do the same. The problem I illustrated in this story was - and still is - a very real one, and your moralizing and finger wagging is only going to make matters worse. So it's not welcome here. Don't like abortion? Don't have one. Problem solved!

Thanks always for reading,

YDB95

I am pleasantly surprised with you YDB95, I know he is a man like me, and we share the same opinion.

It is not that I am considering that abortion is the solution to sex without precaution, but I think it is the best solution to many problems derived from non-consent (rape) sex and even consenting but irresponsible sex. Also in cases of severe malformation of the fetus, apart from other cases that I do not list here.

I still think that today it is a shame that men pretend to dictate and impose their will on the body of women. What would happen in an inverse situation and were men who had to abort an unwanted baby or the result of a violation or serious malformation?

I apologize for my English (yet), is not my native language.

First off - a very well done story and well edited. Hats off to the author.

For the far right Christians - they should not be so selective about what the Good Books say. "Judge not that you be judged". According the the scriptures humans were placed here to have their free agency but protestors against abortion do not remember what they were taught and are trying to force their beliefs on others. The constitution gives everyone the right to freedom of religion but not to force others in their beliefs. I laugh at the exceptions permitted for rape or incest. For the far right it seems to be a matter of convenience just the same for the far left.

The far left doesn't seem to care one way or another if an unborn child is terminated.

My personal belief is that early term abortions are the decision of the mother and the mother alone. Late term abortion I have a problem with because of the fact that premature babies are born every day who, with proper medical assistance, survive and live full lives.

Your story was very well done. The only hole that left me wanting was if Mary would ever find out the outcome of her first baby. It was not clear to me if she had an abortion or if her baby was let for adoption. I never understood the significance of the scars on her wrists. Maybe I missed something.

Overall a 5 star story. I appreciate the difficulty of writing a story on this topic. You did a great job.

2nd time reading these two stories. Great piece of story telling. Thanks again for sharing.

Great writing, great story, great read!

I need one more chapter though. Mary's family.

But Ms Sanger was no Saint as advocates claim. One of her arguments for abortion was we could be rid of undesirable fetuses, that's right Black babies.

Rather than continuing to delete every comment that brings this up, let me set the record straight here. Margaret Sanger lived in a profoundly racist time and she did associate with racists, but there is no evidence that she was herself a racist. Although she did support eugenics up to a point - an undeniably ugly mark on her record in retrospect - she rejected race as a factor in choosing who should limit their childbearing. You can read about it in Ellen Chesler's Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America (in my copy, it's on page 195).

Anyone who argues that Sanger supported limiting or eliminating childbearing among African-Americans or any other ethnicity is just regurgitating discredited anti-choice propaganda, period.

I am glad you enjoyed the story.

And I agree with you about Margaret Sanger. Her contributions to women’s rights were invaluable. One cannot simply pass judgment on people from the past by today’s standards.

Thanks for sharing this.

TheOldRomantic (1-8-17) opines, "it is a shame that men pretend to dictate and impose their will on the body of women."

This overlooks the fact that it is women who are in the forefront of the right-to-life (anti-abortion) movement. Wikipedia article "United States anti-Abortion movement," refers to "a majority of anti-abortion activism constituted by women."

Anonymous (1-24-18) takes Christians to task for not following their own "Good Books," by citing the Bible, "Judge not that you be not judged" (see Matthew 7:1).

An internet Bible commentator, Jason A. Staples (sub: Judge not, lest you be judged), refers to the misuse of this Scripture "to defend against any declaration that a given person's behavior is wrong . ... [and as] a prohibition against declaring any specific action wrong."

We know that this is not what Jesus intended, because He commanded TO judge: "Do not judge according to appearance, but JUDGE with righteous judgment" (John 7:24, emphasis mine).

What Jesus meant was to not hypocritically think you can come down on others without applying the same standard to yourself, for He goes on to say, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged" ( Matthew 7:2).

Jesus's next accusation, "Why do you see the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3) is similarly misused to mean that it is not your business to try to correct someone's behavior.

Jesus' explanation shows that He has in mind HOW to correct someone else: "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to TAKE THE SPLINTER OUT OF YOUR BROTHER'S EYE" (Matthew 7:5, emphasis mine).

Jesus Himself "judged" others by coming down on them, as He frequently did with the religious leaders of His day ( as in the above text, He accuses, "You hypocrite").

The landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade (1973) struck down most anti-abortion laws, thus making it legal to get abortions. The anonymous "Jane Roe" of that case was, a decade or so later, revealed to be Norma McCorvey, a young pregnant woman in Texas. The internet article, "Biography of Norma McCorvey, 'Roe' in the Roe v. Wade Case" is subtitled, "She later converted from a pro-choice to an antiabortion viewpoint." The article states, "In 1995, McCorvey made news again when she declared she had changed to a pro-life stance."

YDB95, in his comment 1-6-17, states, "The belief that abortion causes psychological trauma...is nothing but ptopaganda."

Maybe some women are not affected by it, or even consider it beneficial -- I do not know..

I do know that women have testified about the harmful affects:

"My abortion has left me empty, alone and in despair. It has taken me to a place I almost couldn't come back from. The self-hatred I see every time I look in the mirror has been my constant companion for the last ten years.

--Lori"

This was one of 15 testimonials in the same vein I found on one page by selecting "Rachel's Vineyard --How Abortion Affected Me."

Ramah's Voice -- Abortion Recovery Blog is a similar internet site for helping women recover from the negative effects of abortion.

The story, When We Get to San Francisco, shows one side of an issue. Probably much more could be added.

In this comment, I hope I have shown that there is another side needed to give the issue fair representation . Probably much more could be added by someone more capable than me. But this comment is already too long -- maybe the longest I've ever submitted.

Paul in Oklahoma

Paul, the women you quote were speaking from the position of having had the option of a safe, legal abortion. They may not be happy about it in retrospect, but I guarantee you it's still a less-bad option than having to choose between a back-alley abortion that may well have killed or mutilated them, or being forced to give birth to babies they didn't want. The best option we could offer would be to minimise the risk of unwanted pregnancies in the first place, via affordable and accessible contraception. But people who think abortion is wrong also tend to think contraception is wrong. Think about that.

Thank you for your comment. I don't agree with you, but I'll give you credit for a well-presented argument that mostly avoids the usual lies and propaganda.

Still one of my favorite stories in Literotica!! One great follow-up story. Thanks for sharing.

Not picking nits.

Just for everyone's general knowledge about Prohibition: It was not illegal to drink alcohol, only produce or sell it. It was perfectly legal for Bill and his father to share a drink. If Bill had purchased it before prohibition went into effect he'd have no problem with law enforcement. Doctors were allowed to prescribe alcohol for medicinal purposes.

I, coincidentally, read an article on Prohibition on History.com today, 5 Myths about Prohibition.

Great sequel to your first. My only question, do they ever get to San Francisco?

Another note about Prohibition: it was perfectly legal for people to make their own beer and wine within their house. They could drink it there and, as long as they didn't sell it, any guests coming to their house could drink it as well.

*****Great follow-up story worth reading again. Thanks again for sharing.

Alas, 100 years later, we are still fighting these battles. Tens of millions of Puritans among us want to maximize the odds that a naughty girl—one who does it without a ring on her finger—will be punished with a baby. And it’s only the girls that they want to punish. God save us always from such hypocrites.

Had to stop reading and not scoring. Well written prose but the underlying moral message, or in this case immoral, that it's okay to kill a person just because you made a mistake and that people that assist them are heroes weighs heavy on my soul. If only those people had one...