Men Versus Women

Bob sent me this tale that illustrates the difference between the thought processes of men and women.

The Differences Between Men and Women

Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named
Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a
pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner,
and again they enjoy themselves.

They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while
neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

One evening when they're driving home, a thought
occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it
aloud: "Roger, do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been
seeing each other for exactly six months?"

And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a
very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it
bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by
our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into
some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this
kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little
more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want
us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward ...I
mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each
other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage?
Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that
level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: ...so that means it was ...let's see
...February when we started going out, which was right after I
had the car at the dealer's, which means ...lemme check the
odometer ...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here...

And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face.
Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from
our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has
sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some
reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant
to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being
rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the
transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's
still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on
the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees
out, and this thing is shifting like a goddamn garbage truck, and
I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be
angry, too. God, I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but
I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day
warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs.

And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting
for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm
sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy
being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to
truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my
self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty I'll give
them a damn warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right
up their ....

"Roger," Elaine says aloud.

"What?" asks Roger, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes
beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have ...Oh
God, I feel so....." (She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Roger, totally perplexed.

"I'm such a fool," Elaine sobs. "I mean, I know there's no
knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and
there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Roger.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Elaine says.

"No!" says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that ...It's that I ...I need some time," Elaine says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he
can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up
with one that he thinks might work.) "Yes," he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.) "Oh, Roger, do you
really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Roger.

"That way about time," says Elaine.

"Oh," says Roger. Still hoping he's on the right track he
responds, "Yes."

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing
him to become very nervous about what she might say next,
especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Roger," Elaine says.

"Thank you," says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted,
tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back
to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and
immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match
between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in
the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was
going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no
way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better
if he doesn't think about it. (This is also Roger's policy
regarding world hunger.)

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two
of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight
hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she
said and everything he said, going over it time and time again,
exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of
meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will
continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe
months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never
getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual
friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving,
frown, and ask: "Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?"

Posted by denny at June 24, 2006 11:38 AM