"A Lady Had a Baby In a Tree...What Have You Got?"

You know how you just happen to hear a phrase and it stays with you?

"A Lady Had a Baby In a Tree...What Have You Got?"

 

Prime example right there.

 

Probably six months or so ago, I was home sick from work and was flipping through the channels. It was news to me that Katie Couric had her own talk show (aptly named, "Katie"), so I decided to check it out.

 

She was interviewing Michael J. Fox, who I've always really liked as an actor. I also have always been interested in his work with Parkinson's Disease, as my maternal grandmother lived it with for many years.

 

Katie asked him about his family and how he interacts with them, which led to the above quote.

 

You can view the video directly on Katie Couric's site. (The quote doesn't come until the end, but the beginning is pretty good, too, and worth watching.)

 

In a nutshell, he says he drives his kids crazy with optimism. When they come to him to complain or are down, he'll say to them, "A Lady Had a Baby In a Tree...What Have You Got?"

 

I know if someone said that to me, I'd stop dead in my tracks and think, "Huh?"

 

Which is exactly what I did. And then I did the next natural thing. I Googled it.

 

Haven't heard the story? Here you go.

 

Yes, a woman really had a baby in a tree and was rescued minutes later by helicopter.

 

Can you imagine? (I can't even imagine giving birth in a "comfortable" hospital bed.)

 

 

photo credit



Everyone has a right to complain about things they don't like.

I do it frequently, but since seeing the Michael J. Fox interview, I *try* to do it a little less frequently, because really -- is 99% of what I complain about tougher than having a baby in a tree?

No.

Thankfully.