We recently heard from Rick, who compared an accidental bonus baby to "going in to get your teeth cleaned and having a bonus impacted wisdom tooth removed with a pair of rusty pliers and a shot of bourbon for anesthesia." He said: Reliable and inexpensive birth control has been readily available for over 50 years. Babies are to be planned. Just popping them out is the sign of someone too stupid to have any."

KASIE: My, my, my! Apparently, Rick is very comfortable with knowing everything about everything despite having very little information.

Yes, there are reliable (and expensive) birth control methods available, but there are also a surprising number of birth control failures, and there's sometimes a lack of knowledge, which can lead to a surprise baby. It's not as straightforward as Rick thinks.

I have a message for him: Life can be a lot of fun. It's not always quiet and tidy and within our preconceived parameters. It's too bad Rick spends his time judging rather than looking for ways to enjoy all kinds of people. His life will be much smaller than those of the families who have welcomed their surprise babies and demonstrated the ability to be good humored and adapt.

WILA: I do hope that Rick, who seems to not believe in contraception failure, has made sure that he will have no offspring. Since even a vasectomy may fail, I would recommend that he have his testicles removed. This would have the added benefit of preventing testicular cancer.

HALLIE: Rick needs to be better informed. Every single method of contraception has a failure rate. I personally know two women who had children after a tubal ligation. One of them had twins! The failure rate is 1 in 1,000. I also know a woman who got pregnant twice while she was on oral contraceptives and never missed one pill. And I know a woman who had a baby after her husband had a vasectomy. After that baby, he went back for a repeat vasectomy, and she had a tubal ligation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011 45 percent of pregnancies were unplanned. Is that because people are stupid? I don't think so. It's because Mother Nature is tricky. Studies show that a woman's libido is strongest during her most fertile period and men are most attracted to women when they're the most fertile. So when do you think people are most likely to get sloppy with birth control? That's why we need birth control and ready access to abortion services.

NORA: I feel sorry for that cranky man. He doesn't know it, but his anti-child attitude actually reveals a lot about his personal life. It's sad because his views veritably scream that his sterile sex life isn't fulfilling. My husband and I cannot imagine anything nicer than for our lovemaking to result in another life. Love and passion cannot help but create.

As I grow older and my fertility wanes, I would be beyond grateful for a little surprise to add more joy to our lives.

Have you been in Tales? Send your update, along with your questions, problems, issues and insights to cheryllavinrapp@gmail.com. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not."