Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Difference Between Men and Women


I know it's hard to tell, but there are differences . . .

My husby and I were just finishing supper.
The doorbell rang.
He went to answer it.
It was a good friend from our Drama Society, who needed to discuss . . . drama.
We sat down in the living room.
And discussed.
Then, as usually happened, the discussing turned to visiting.
But something about the visit was odd. He wouldn't look at me.
I should point out that this was a man that both my husby and I had been good friends with for over fifteen years.
Our families were close.
We had spent many, many hours together, rehearsing, performing  and directing plays.
And much of that time had been spent in visiting.
This was the first time he wouldn't look at me while doing so.
Weird.
An hour and a half later, he left.
I shook off my uneasy feelings and went to get ready for bed.
I opened my mouth to floss my teeth.
And discovered that a leaf of lettuce was neatly covering one of my upper front teeth.
Not wedged between.
Not faintly visible.
Covered.
Like it had been painted.
Green.
Ick.
I stared.
Suddenly things were becoming clear.
Suddenly I knew why our friend hadn't been able to look at me during our visit.
I turned to my husby.
“Honey, I have a lettuce leaf covering my tooth!”
“Yes.”
Okay, a man of many words, my husby isn't.
I swallowed. Hard.
I knew the answer, but I asked it anyway. “Was it there the whole time we were visiting?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me???!!!”
“I didn't want to embarrass you.”
“What?! You don't think I'm more embarrassed now?!”
He shrugged.
I took a deep breath.
“Honey, I want you to promise me something.”
“Okay,” he said, rather warily.
“Promise me that if you see anything, anything that I would be embarrassed about, you will tell me.”
“Umm. Okay.”
And there we see a fundamental difference between men and women.
Women will go out of their way to tell a total stranger that the tag is sticking out of the back of their blouse.
Or that they have something stuck in their hair.
Or that they have some gravy on their sleeve.
And then offer aid.
Men don't.
Tell, that is.
Or aid.
If they observe it at all, they keep it to themselves.
Even with other men.
I once saw a man standing in a group of men with his zipper down.
And his shirttail sticking out of said zipper.
And no one told him.
I asked my husby afterwards if he had observed it.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone say anything?!”
“Didn't want to embarrass him.”
Doesn't it occur to these people that it's infinitely more embarrassing to discover these things for oneself hours later?
Yep. Men and women.
Some of our differences are delightful.
And some . . .

19 comments:

  1. Definitely! My husband would have done the exact same thing! I just don't get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mine wouldn't even have noticed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would have been totally fine if the other husband in the room hadn't noticed. Sigh.

      Delete
  3. First, best photo ever.Second, M. would've said something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First. Christmas jammies. They make the best photos!
      Second. Really?! Hang onto him!

      Delete
  4. I've taught my husband the rule I learned young: if it's something the person can easily fix, tell them. If it's not, let it be.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved the cozy photo of you two!

    My sis-in-law (I have known her since she was 3) and I were talking. She had a boogie in her nose, and I didn't know what to say. Her hubby came by, and rescued her and me.

    What should I have done? Depend on husbands, that's what.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do pretty much what Karen says above. I think sometimes it's kinder to pretend I don't see, so the person can hang onto the hope that maybe people really DIDN'T see! It's a tricky matter, trying to decide the lesser of two embarrassments for someone else!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lesser of two embarrassments. I'm going to go with that!

      Delete
  7. My husband never would have noticed. Nor either of my sons. {{sigh}}.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a teller. Perfect strangers at my checkout got told they had lipstick on their teeth or their fly was undone, I've even mentioned to several people they really shouldn't wander around the store with their handbags wide open and unattended on their trolley. (shopping cart). I don't see it as interfering or trying to embarrass, I see it as looking out for people. I'm helping.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hahahahahaa! I can't believe neither of them had the good sense to just tell you. Men are from another planet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They totally are! We should write a book about it! Oh, wait . . .

      Delete

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