It’s been a long, looong time since I was a first-time dad trying frantically to figure out what to do (in the absence of my wife) when our newborn daughter would cry, seemingly inconsolable.
This afternoon, thanks to pro-life blogger Chelsea Zimmerman, I was vividly reminded of the rush of emotions lo those many years ago. She linked to a video whose closing line for the two-minute long video is “Technology can never replace love.”
Some of our NRL News Today readers may recall the unlikely source of some remarkably pro-life/life affirming videos. It is the Thai branch of the Japanese lingerie company, Wacoal, not necessarily the first place you’d think of as a source of such incredibly powerful stories.
We’ve previously written about two of their “Beautiful Woman” series at nrlc.cc/1njHj8c; and nrlc.cc/1njHwbF. [1] The video I watched today could be described as “In the midst of panic, a Beautiful Discovery.”
First shot: a little baby is crying her lungs out and a young dad leaps from his chair (where he was probably sleeping) and races to the crib. What to do? What else? Uses his smart phone to call mom, who is shopping.
What should I do, he asks, she won’t stop crying? Maybe she’s hungry. In a hilarious moment, he takes a quick look down, realizes he isn’t carrying the necessary equipment (so to speak). What else? Well, use the phone to show her the dancing penguins. Nope, no dice, she cries louder.
Okay, put the phone in front of her face and she can look at mom. Mom talks to her, makes funny faces, plays peek-a-boo, but the little one isn’t fooled.
He is in big trouble. What to do?
A slight pause and you can almost visualize the light bulb going on. Maybe….I….could…actually….hold…her…myself.
He puts the phone down, screws up his courage (“Man, I hope I don’t drop her”), and ever so gently begins to lift his daughter from her crib. The crying subsides.
He looks closely into her face. She is looking into his (“Hey, dad, we’ve never been this close before”).
The mom watches this tender moment on her phone. She looks around discretely and wipes away a tear.
Ever so gradually he brings his daughter closer and closer to his chest, and, just perhaps, his heart.
The final shot? Her little left hand touches the right side of her dad’s face. He (like the rest of us) is close to tears.
Indeed, Technology can never replace love.
[1] Allie Healy, writing at Bustle.com, explained the “Beautiful women” series this way. “The three videos, each about seven minutes in length, tell the story of three different women and the secret sacrifices they made throughout her lives. They are powerful stories, based on actual events, of women taking unlikely paths to overcome obstacles and defy society’s standards. In Thai with English subtitles, each is narrated by a man who tells the story of a woman who affected his life and made him find beauty in surprising places.”
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
