His personality hijacked the attention of everyone in the Post Office. But I guess that was the point. You know the type: the gregarious middle-aged guy making a production out of overnighting an envelope for his wife, so he can be in the spotlight that he craves even if for a few moments a day. That is, until he does it all again at the pharmacy, the deli, and Starbucks later. It fuels him.
Why? The answer came in one of his comments to the man behind the counter:
“I’m married. I do whatever my wife tells me to do.”
It was as though he’d dropped in from a 1970’s sitcom to mail a letter and regale the good people of 2014 with his antiquated, sexist musings. He was the stereotypical hapless man running an errand for the (ball-crushing) wife and hoping he gets it right or else he’s really gonna get it when he gets home! [laugh track here]
I thought about the two men I’m raising — to do their own laundry and make executive decisions confidently — and I tried to picture how they could wind up like our 70’s sitcom star. I suppose that it would go like this:
- Teach them to make decisions.
- Teach them to run errands, do household chores, and cook.
- Teach them to be responsible.
- On their wedding day, point to the bride and say, “Now, do whatever she tells you.”
Because, it’s been long believed, that “the man is the head, but the woman is the neck. She can turn the head any way she wants it to go,” à la “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”:
But it’s time to put that marital charade out on the curb and expect men to be the neck, too.
And women: That means they might not do things exactly the way you want them to be done.
And men: That means you can’t play the hapless man card anymore.
Then maybe I could finally make it to the front of the line to mail my package.
