The last laugh

[Gordon Maney]

When regarding the hypothetical woman, she is being regarded in appearance only. The charm and appeal we find in our woman results from a constellation of points defining a unique pattern. Appearance is only one of those many points. She and her being are the combination to a lock, figuratively speaking.

Years ago i was a jealous person. I am no longer. We can own no one.

Perhaps one's mate can value the choice and commitment of their other, and find affirmation in that commitment reaching miles beyond any woman noticed. Find the affirmation in someone looking into the distance and yet staying home.

[Kevin Mienke]

The truth should travel with both tact, and diplomacy.

I like that.

[MasterYota]

I feel as though I have baited a trap and stuck my own foot in it. Should a man, an upstanding man, always be 100% honest with his woman?

I believe in serious matters he should. What is a serious matter?

Does the upstanding man choose honesty or happy endings in less serious matters?

It would seem wrong ( or something) to say "Yes, I like that brunette." When at the heart of the matter, the fact remains that I like MY brunette.

The trapping is in the language, not the intent. I'm sure you don't like that brunette - as you would need to know her to like her. Getting to know her could cause serious detriment to your current health! It may be safer to tell the wife that while the brunette is not ugly, she isn't as aluring and captivating as your wife is.

Or just wear sunglasses and pretend to have not seen anything.

As for being serious and honest, there is an appropriate saying for that: "the truth hurts". The truth should travel with both tact, and diplomacy. There are also some things that are just better left unsaid, as once it is spoken, it can't be un-spoken.

[Kevin Mienke]

Excuse me while I work through this.

The conversation should go like this:

Did you think that girl was pretty?

Yes, you know very well that I like shapely attractive brunettes. That is why I chose you.

Honesty AND happy ending. ????

[Kevin Mienke]

I feel as though I have baited a trap and stuck my own foot in it. Should a man, an upstanding man, always be 100% honest with his woman?

I believe in serious matters he should. What is a serious matter?

Does the upstanding man choose honesty or happy endings in less serious matters?

It would seem wrong ( or something) to say "Yes, I like that brunette." When at the heart of the matter, the fact remains that I like MY brunette.

[Kevin Mienke]

I believe a man cannot find a woman appealing and attractive if he does not find women appealing and attractive. In this context I am not meaning all women, just those women who have it, whatever it may be for that man. It is all a matter of individual preferences.

One's responses to others cannot be switched off without switching off the entire process. I believe this is not gender exclusive, either. It goes both ways.

You know it, I know it, and she knows it. Still it is a dangerous question to answer. There is no effective deception happening when I answer with a no. Still it somehow seems like the right answer for the happiest of endings.

[Gordon Maney]

Will,

Dogs are easier to train than wives. Adjusting a carb goes hand in hand with reading the manual.

About #40, it is imperative that you do not waiver in your answers. For instance, when she asks you "Did you think that girl was pretty?, you must answer no and stick with it. She will press you and you must be prepared.

It will go like this if you are not prepared:

Did you think that girl was pretty?

No.

Oh come on, I know you like brunettes.

I like brunettes because you are a brunette.

So you admit you like brunettes?

You have now lost.

Stick with a resolute NO and you will be fine.

I believe a man cannot find a woman appealing and attractive if he does not find women appealing and attractive. In this context I am not meaning all women, just those women who have it, whatever it may be for that man. It is all a matter of individual preferences.

One's responses to others cannot be switched off without switching off the entire process. I believe this is not gender exclusive, either. It goes both ways.

[Steve G]

Kevin, I have "Jerimiah Johnson" and "The Mountain Men" with Charleton Heston on dvd. You are more than welcome to borrow those, maybe during the next blizzard!

[Kevin Mienke]

Hey Steve,

Good to hear from you.

"Jeremiah Johnson" is a favorite movie of mine. We had it in the video cabinet at the fire station. I'd bet we watched it 20 times at Station 6 in the five years I was assigned there. It's no mystery why men love to watch stories like that...we need to feed a passion.

I think there might be an upcoming Long View article about this very thing.

I'm glad so many folks are enjoying this thread.

I did go fishing last night. The ice was 5 -8 inches and the bluegill and crappie are biting around the flooded timber. I slept well, no freight trains.


MaineSS,
Only giving it a little thought, the fall of the Romans is very similar. The one big difference I can see is that the young men serving in our Armed Forces are a cut above the Roman soldier. Otherwise the decline is eerily similar.

[Steve G]

When I think of real men it's the Trappers/mountain men of the early 1800's. Alone in the wilderness to face the mountain lions, grizzly bears, and native americans that don't want you there. Thier protection was a flintlock muzzleloader, maybe a flintlock pistol, and a big knife or hatchet. If you can't kill it after two shots, better be good with a blade. I'd be dead within the first week!

[712edf]

This has been, by far, the best thread in quite some time.

Its eye-opening to draw similarites in such a way with the Fall of the Roman empire and the foibles of todays modern society.

I can't wait for the historians and political pundits to start hashing this out in a new thread...

Sometimes the best drives/trips are the ones with no given destination, agenda, or itinerary.

Bucky

[MasterYota]

This has been, by far, the best thread in quite some time.

Its eye-opening to draw similarites in such a way with the Fall of the Roman empire and the foibles of todays modern society.

I can't wait for the historians and political pundits to start hashing this out in a new thread...

[Kevin Mienke]

I don’t know.

I have read this entire thread over again. It’s no wonder my wife doesn’t ask me what I’m thinking anymore. We have gone from minivans, snow blowers, orthodontists and box stores to Chevrolets, manicures and highlights.

Saber tooth cats and grizzly bears, suburbia and the uselessness of today’s man, Starbuck’s coffee and the aging of man’s soul. Dogs and hunting, woodsmen, cabins and bearskin rugs, trucks, minds, souls and great books. Evaluating what skills we have other than liking brunettes. Finally we are contemplating the fall of the Roman Empire. The funny thing is, the thread has not been hijacked…it is all relevant.

I sometimes have bad dreams, waking me like a freight train in my head. She never asks me about my dreams.

I wonder if the ice is thick enough to go fishing.

I will check this thread in the morning.

[Bruce]

Soooo Eminent

I'm wondering if some of the Romans in the last days of Empire exchanged similar thoughts... we're far down the same road. Let's see- a society fixated on entertainment spectacles and leisure, burdened with an enormous amount of debt drawn against a largely worthless currency, supporting a large welfare class and neverending foreign wars with an ever-diminishing pool of heavily taxed workers, and reliant on foreign imports for many necessities of daily life. After the crash, many Roman cities disappeared so completely it was difficult to find proof of their former existence- London vanished entirely for at least two centuries. Wonder how we"ll make out?

Eminent might not be the best word, but 200 years! Norm where are you when we need your level headed-ideology?

[maineSS]

I'm wondering if some of the Romans in the last days of Empire exchanged similar thoughts... we're far down the same road. Let's see- a society fixated on entertainment spectacles and leisure, burdened with an enormous amount of debt drawn against a largely worthless currency, supporting a large welfare class and neverending foreign wars with an ever-diminishing pool of heavily taxed workers, and reliant on foreign imports for many necessities of daily life. After the crash, many Roman cities disappeared so completely it was difficult to find proof of their former existence- London vanished entirely for at least two centuries. Wonder how we"ll make out?