"I Never Met a Man I Didn't Like"

Will Rogers uttered those words many years ago and was referring to a general fondness for humanity. But for the purpose of providing juxtaposition to Tim's post on women, I want to go on record and say I prefer the company of men.

When I was a little girl, I lived in a neighborhood of boys and I was an only child. Since I wanted to have someone to play with, I learned to play baseball and I made my Dad take me fishing. I learned to fillet the perfect fish and stop squealing if the fish moved while we cleaned it. (Although I wore gloves to put worms on my hook because they were just nasty.)

When people bought me girl toys like dolls, I turned my nose up at them. I wanted baseball equipment and bicycles and nets to catch frogs in so I could keep up with the boys.

Don't get me wrong, I have some really wonderful girlfriends. But women are SO much work. When you go out with women, you have to worry about if your shoes match your purse and if your nails are done and if your roots are showing. They want to shop for antiques or do crafts or talk about their babies' butt rashes. Pass! I don't know girl things like designer brands or the best stores to buy wallpaper, or where to get false eyelashes applied for $150. It's just not me.

But I can name most of the Cleveland Indians from the 70's like Buddy Bell, Dennis Eckersley, Duane Kuiper, Oscar Gamble, Gaylord Perry and ... chicks are not impressed by that knowledge. I can also name the singer of most any song in my lifetime, and basically no one on Earth is impressed by that skill except when my college friends call me up at 3 in the morning drunk and try to get other drunk people to stump me.

One more strike against women... If a certain woman doesn't show up to the party- she is the topic of conversation for all the other women. One time I missed a party with a bunch of girls from work and one lady told me something another lady said about me. I confronted her and she said (I swear I'm not making this up.) "Well, if you would have come we wouldn't have talked about you." Sometimes women are insane! (Myself included.) Women are hard on each other. They have the tendency to tear each other down with great regularity. I've never understood the need they have to belittle one another. I despise it. (I say as I write an entire paragraph tearing down women. Hypocrite!)

But men? Men have this lovely quality - they seek to uplift and encourage you. They go out of their way to find something positive to say. They work to see the best in you. Sure, it might be subconsciously motivated by a desire to get laid, but so what? If they are successful in their quest or not -they're affection and kindness achieves the same effect; it makes us happy.

Men are also more likely to tell you something to your face than to wait until you leave the room and whisper it behind your back. They're direct and honest. I value that quality very much. Guys mean what they say. "Let's go to a game." means "Let's go to a game." It's much less complicated to decipher Guy Speak.

Bottom line? If given the option to go shoe shopping with a bunch of women, or go watch a baseball game with a bunch of guys, I will pick the guys and the baseball game 100 out of 100 times.

When Jeff and I first got married a million years ago, I think all my guy friends made him uneasy. But as he got to know them, my theatre friends, my college friends, my travel agent friends, etc- he liked them too. They're just good decent guys.

And they could care less if my shoes match my purse.

Men are content that I laugh at their jokes and know what's happening in a baseball game. Much less pressure. Tammy Lou

P.S. I don't want to use to broad a brush here, I have many notable exceptions to my theory, such as Jill, Barb, Gretchin, Cathi, Betsy, Susan, Pat, Bridget and ...many of my dear lady friends who are deeply, sincerely gracious and kind; encouraging and supportive. Women I ADORE. But still and all, I dig boys.