A Christmas Carol, Part I

This is a little something in several parts that I wrote last Christmas. It is hence almost a year old, but not previously published, and perhaps it’s a good time right now – to get into advent mood... On the other hand, when I look at this now through a filter of time, my ire has largely abated. So let’s just call this a visit from the Ghost of Christmases Past!

A Christmas Carol – Part I

Here’s an account of my Christmas 2009, and the events, people and comments that inspired me to start a blog. Setting: In a place far, far away, a group of people had gathered to do scientific field work instead of spending Christmas with their loved ones…

One little teeny-weeny irksome detail was the way my boss mentioned several times that women should have children before they’re 30. Sure, it’s common knowledge that your chances of getting pregnant at all, and in particular your chances of safely delivering a healthy baby, are strongly linked to age. And sure, draw the line at 30 if you want – I’m not sure that’s the official health advice (it’s fairly common these days to have kids after 30) but you probably have a point. Still, I thought the first time he mentioned this might be a bit of a gaffe – considering he was in the presence of a woman of 30+ with no children. But he kept coming back to this; it’s obviously a pretty strongly held view of his.

The second little thing, that really got to me, was the comment one evening that it was so nice to be doing fieldwork with me and [OtherYoungWoman] because we were doing a lot of cleaning. The boss had noticed how we spent some time every evening tidying up, making everything seatight, and we always knew where everything was. This cleaning and tidying business is apparently a girly thing, and he thoroughly approved (while slightly amused, it seemed); “I’m quite traditional. I believe in different roles for men and women.”

Funny. I was taught early on in my seagoing days that you need to stow things well, make sure things are safe, and not leave things lying around in a mess. This I was told by seasoned (male) sailors, but I’ve also learned it by practical experience, since I’ve spent most of my time at sea in areas where the weather is generally fairly rough and where bad things happen to your stuff if you don’t lash it down properly before you go to bed. Girly?

Well, I’m not a sailing person – the boss is the yachtsman! – but I seem to recall hearing this as a general piece of boating advice from more than one source: don’t leave things lying around (because they’ll go flying)… You hear these stories of old sailors and how neat they keep everything --- well, that proves to you that seamen everywhere, perhaps contrary to common belief, are really well in touch with their female side!

And with this encouraging thought, I’ll let this post come to an end, and continue my ranting in …  The Next Post!