A fertility statue emerged intact from the ashes of Mt Vesuvius’ eruption almost two thousand years ago.  It sat behind glass at the Times Square Pompeii exhibit.  The relic featured a disembodied hand holding the fertility god, Sabazius, whose own outstretched hands were blessing the nursing mother and infant reclining beneath him.  For added potency, the bronze sculpture also included a snake, pine cone and bird.  In the first century A.D. Roman women must have knelt beneath the statue and prayed for a baby.  They did not have IVF, but they had their own magical method.  The rebirth of this relic in modern-day New York was proof positive of its fecundity.  I wanted to return with a baby blanket as an offering.  Then I too could ignite the spark of life in my womb.  Unfortunately, it was the last day of the exhibit, and I did not have the opportunity to appeal to the god of procreation for his blessing.