Tales From The Library/ Men Are From Mars and Women Believe It

Revised and updated !! PJ-rating.

I have a library full of books and many of them I have not read. I become attracted to a book and take it home with me forgetting that I can’t read more than five pages anymore without falling asleep. It takes a long time to read a book five pages at a time. But the library looks great. Tonight I thought maybe it would be good to share a page or two with you. Why? I’m thinking maybe my library could be a tax deduction. Or, maybe we could learn something quickly and then I could fall asleep.

So I had to pick out something I have never read and decided to take a peak at Mars and Venus in the Bedroom by John Gray Ph. D. It’s Saturday night and Virginia Photos is going to get a little wild. I believe this book might have been a Christmas present from my former wife. She liked to give me presents that suggested I was needy in some regard while the entire family was watching. Years earlier at Uletide she had given me two ceramic balls with Japenese artwork and little bells inside. You are supposed to roll them around in your hand and become more relaxed.

I know I will regret it if I say any more about my Christmas present so we will just move on. Back to the book. Lesson 1: Don’t tell him he should read the book. Good idea. In fact, I suggest a further instruction. Don’t tell him he should do anything. Ever. Ask him if he would like to do it and open your eyes a bit wider when you do it. Just enough to send a subliminal suggestion to his brain.

The author continues…..””Instead, she should say, “Let’s read this book about sex. It is really fun.” or “This is really a sexy book. Let’s take turns reading it together”” First question. What does “it” refer to in the sentence “ It is really fun” ”? (I paid attention in the 90’s and know how to ask questions.) Because this is going to confuse him. Does she mean “sex” is really fun? Then why does she want to read a book? Why not just have some sex? Or, maybe “it” is fun because she is having ”it” with somebody else! She wants to read to him so there won’t be time for sex. The possibilities are endless and none of them are good. So nix this statement.

The author’s second suggestion is better. He suggests she should just read the book and ignore her husband if he is not interested . That’s good. Because he will definitely be hurt by this. He will feel left out. Unless he is super cool and confident like I was (not). Then he will just laugh as he comes in the room to put on his leather jacket and head out the door. ” Later, baby. Enjoy your book. ”

I always used to think of cool stuff to say and do after the time was right. Introverts need time to consider a response and almost never win in a lover’s quarrel. Their best bet is to marry someone who is more introverted then they are and then they can write emails to each other when they feel contentious.

And here is my favorite part (so far). “Reading this book out loud with your partner can assist you in expressing feelings about sex in an easy manner. By making a simple sound of enthusiasm or delight …you can give your partner an important message”.

It’s all about sounds. That’s true. But you have to be careful. The wrong sound would not be good. And there are more wrong sounds than right sounds. Lauren Bacall was right. Maybe we should just whistle. Keep it simple. No monkey business. NO monkey sounds. And especially no chimpanzees!

And watch your eyeballs, too. If they start going up you are in trouble. If they continue up into your brain and you fall asleep, well, let’s just say you are going to need more help than this book is going to give you.

So my eyeballs are moving northward and it’s time for our bedtime story to end. I’ve tried to add a little bit to the words and wisdom of our man from Mars, Dr. Gray. Hopefully, nobody reads books like this anymore. Today we have Viagra and there was even a commercial on television the other night for the female version of Viagra. No. Not George Clooney. It’s a pill for women. And 98 percent of the customers who buy it are men! So I guess we are all set!

This is the 21st century and we don’t need books anymore. We have computers. We have pharmacies. And we have blogs that tie us up twenty hours per day. So we don’t need to read this book. We need to sleep. And, if I remember correctly, that was what my ex-wife used to tell me all the time

Don’t tell anyone Dr. Davidlind said this but maybe she was right!

 

D Recommends Books by John Gray Author of Men Are From Mars etc.

Mike Betts Breaks Down Reporting In Joplin, Missouri/ Disaster In The Heart Of America

I’ve been watching the news and weather reports like everybody and witnessing the unbelievable destruction in places like Joplin, Missouri.   Americans so often are heading out to disaster points around the world when earthquakes and tsunamis leave people with little more than the clothes on their backs.  Hopefully this time we  will head in the opposite direction, inward, towards the heart of America with our hearts, minds and financial resources.

Mike Betts, a Weather Channel reporter, arrived on the scene in Joplin just a few minutes after a huge tornado carried much of the town away.

As he looks around at the utter devastation for miles and miles he loses it for a few moments.

It’s the most riveting television reporting I have ever seen. We transcend the medium in a moment.  We feel despair and cry.

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Prior to this report there is another video of Mr. Betts when he first arrives and starts looking in vehicles for people who need assistance. He certainly has his priorities straight.

And here is a little doggy being rescued from the debris.   Mike describes the fire fighters pulling each other out of damaged structures. Fire Departments from at least four states have arrived or are arriving to assist.

We pray for all the folks caught in this terrible event.  There have been a lot of jokes lately on the television about the end of the world statements made by some preacher out there in California.   The guy has revised his forecast.  Now the world is ending on October 21.  Well tell that to the people in this town and others like it who have been caught in this terrible spring of tornadoes.  No more jokes please.

I am praying for the thousands who have endured loss and especially for those who have not yet been found.   There are over a thousand of them at this date.

No more tornadoes!!   Another prayer at this moment goes up.

No more tornadoes.  We have had enough of them.  It’s 8:30 am on May 25th.   If some fool preacher can predict the end of the world I can make my own grand prediction.  Let them go away.  Now.

Happy Anniversary! /Dinner At The Jefferson/ Richmond, Virginia/ Sunshine Of Your Love

B and I recently celebrated our tenth anniversary and headed down to Richmond’s five star restaurant, The Jefferson Hotel (Richmond, Virginia), for some fine dining. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and contented thoughts simmering over two appreciative souls.
B used to play here when she had her girl band, The Colonists, back in the swinging seventies. She played for Governor Godwin in this ornate setting back then and was telling me about all the fun they had lugging their equipment up the winding stairs.
“What? No gofers?”

Apparently not. But that’s fine. Who knows what sort of payment a big, strong guy might have wanted for lugging stuff around back then. And B didn’t roll that way. She was dedicated to her craft and never allowed anybody to get between her and her guitar. Later on, of course, there were rumors that she was married and she did have a couple of wonderful children. But who knows?
They could be adopted. I’m convinced that she never dated anybody before we met just before the new millenium arrived.
Those were the days! We spent a great deal of time emailing each other during December when it was not clear what was going to happen! B was being her chaste self, as usual, while planning holiday events and I was concerned about the potential end of time probably between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
And so our relationship blossomed in a way that is difficult to describe. But then you can never really see inside the relationship of another couple unless they are screaming at each other all the time and end up on one of those crime shows. In those cases you could say, maybe, that there is no relationship to be seen. It is gone and all that is left is a very noisy aftermath. It’s a nova whose light is travelling through the darkness while the star is gone.
Happily earth and the computers continued to hum along without too much of a problem as we went down the road. Flowers blossomed in the spring of each year and summer brought us days on the ocean shores. Autumns arrived and we found warmth in a touch or a smile.
And then, once again, it was time for holiday planning as we gathered with family and friends to welcome in the new year. And I would always take a moment to remember the day when I first saw an angel who loves to sing and play the guitar while I joyfully listened and made her mine.

 

 

 

 

Pixie

 

Pixie

The river runs wide
Or narrow and sometimes deep
And goes down to the sea.
Pixie and me
Ride between the bones
Or maybe they are stones
And wood on the shores
Bleached by the light.
It’s hard to say for sure
Resting in our bottom boat
Her face obscures the sun
And wisps of hair
Sear my eyes
Ah sweet solar flares.
She sings a lovely song
As the choir comes along
And we ride the river slowly
Rising up to heaven.
(Though Momma always makes a fuss
She doesn’t like her.  Oh distrust!)
And my aching back resists
These trials and tributaries too,
Poisoning the bay
I cannot dive
I must not drink.
(Oh, if only flakes of dung
Shining in the sun
Was sparkling rain
Cooling our brains,
I could hold you in my arms
And pull the depths
Around us let the weeds
Sweep us clean
And stop this thinking.)
So much love mixed with the hate
Preachers will elaborate
In ceremonies I resist,
Oh let us float away dear Pixie,
Save the words we say amiss
Instead just smile and kiss
Kiss remember us
Just us like this.