The Consortium…

Posted under How I See It

There they sat around the patio table outside of the local grocery store.  Eight of them, men and women, all of them had lived a generation more than I.  Their discussions ranged from who screwed up the economy to whom to blame for the recent weather.  One might stop to bite into the muffin they brought or to break off a bit of doggie biscuit to hand to one of their four footed companions.

These last few months have found me falling into routines.  One of them is to get up in the morning, throw a leash on the dog and walk the couple of blocks to the local grocery store.  There I find coffee and a newspaper to take back to the house. 

Most mornings I see the group and stop to say a brief hello.  After the quick pleasantries I call the dog and we’re on our way home.  Yesterday was different.  As I turned to head home one of the group members invited me to sit and join them.

I was taken aback.  This was the first time I had been invited after several months.  I actually hesitated not sure what to say.  I’m not a shy person by any stretch of the imagination.  Ask my wife, she’ll tell you that I will talk with just about anyone.  The problem is usually getting me to stop talking. 

I kindly declined and made an excuse that I had something pressing to get to.  In reality I think I was really intimidated by the group.  These people have seen and have done a lifetime more than I had.  What could I possibly add to their conversations?

I got home and kicked myself for being so naive.  It wasn’t what I could bring to their conversation, it was what I could gleam from their experiences.  These are the people who existed before the “baby boomers” category that I fit into.  They have lived through more wars, more economies, more politics, more life experiences than I’ve had.  Things you won’t find written in any books.  They lived it.

So tomorrow morning as I call the dog, grab her leash and head out the door, I going to find a way to get myself invited to “The Consortium.”  I figure that even at my age you’re never too old to learn.

I Found This Funny…

Posted under How I See It

 

 

Elvis  is serenading the crowds from a Mexican restaurant in the middle of a Garden Grove, a city whose population is primarily Asian Americans.

I love America….

Sorry for not updating the blog.  Besides starting another blog “It’s Not About Cigars”and continuing my pursuit of employment and staying out of my wife’s hair, it’s been taking my time from this one. 

But I love to write and I will just have to find the time…

 

Fighters To Your Corners…

Posted under How I See It, Wife, Work

 

As you may have read in previous posts I’m going a bit stir crazy.  Being unemployed and my wife working summer school this year I’ve found that there are only so many walls in this house to paint.

This is a new situation for me.  At first it has been fun, kind of an extended vacation.  I thought how cool will this be.  Off from work during the summer.  Sunshine, beach, shorts, flip flops all day long. 

The luster has definitely worn off.  And my wife is not happy about it. 

I have no interaction with anyone during the day.  Other than television or the mailman who will not look me straight in the eye after I asked him to look at a mole I had.

So when she comes home, I smother her with questions about her day, or relate to her my latest blog information or what the dog did interesting that day.  She just stares at me with that look of “You will die now if you don’t leave me alone for five minutes.” 

This situation is very common.  With the economy the way it is more couples are finding themselves with one or both spouses out of work.  My friend Dan over at Really Worried Dad sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal the other day.  Knowing my situation he thought this might be something the wife and I could use.  He was right…

Take a few minutes and read it.  The marriage you save might be your own…

Take It From A Man Who Knows…

Posted under Daughters, How I See It, Wife

 

While scanning my regulars I came across the latest from my friend M at This New Place.  “M” is a single mom with two adorable daughters.  The three of them have been living blissfully without the interference of a man in their lives.

Then about a year ago “M” walked into a small piano bar near her home and fell in love.  There sitting behind the piano playing and singing his heart out was a man who swept her off her feet. 

It has been fun to read M’s posts for the past year as she and “J” have dated, courted and now are cohabitating.  Her recent posts have detailed the trials and tribulations that the three have had to contend with now that a man is in their midst.

After reading her recent posts, I had to smile.  Stories of snoring, stealing the sheets on the bed, leaving the toilet seat up are all very familiar to my own situation. 

Just as “J” has found himself in an all female household, I too have been living that nightmare.  Being married and with three teenage daughters under foot, all J has to do is look at my situation to see what he has coming his way in a few years…

Without exception, toilet seats must be lowered.  I know this is inconvenient but trust me, you don’t want the dirty looks you’ll get the first time one of them sits on cold porcelain in the middle of the night.  

 

Your days of strolling around the house sans clothing have ended.  Invest in a crappy robe,  M will steal your nice robe anyways.

 

You thought your budget for toilet paper was high before?  With women, it’s going to go through the roof.

 

As the girls get older you’re going to have a much tougher time sorting the laundry.  Just whose frilly bra and thong underwear are these? 

 

When young girls start to hit their teenage years you’ll find your house has more drama than a soap opera.

 

Start preaching this NOW.  Boys are bad!!!  Need I say more?

 

Right now your home has only one female whose hormones once a month require chocolate and bitching.  In a few years that will triple.  I’d look into a cave or bomb shelter to rent once a month.  Might want to invest in Hersey’s stock, too.

 But, above all else, no matter what anyone says, the number one rule is…..

 The woman is always right.