Fwd: TheBanyanTree: What were they thinking?

[Tobie Shapiro]

October 10, 200000000005


Dear me,

	Pick up lines I have loved to retell:

	I had brought my writing materials to a bar.  I would sit 
there in a public place, drink soda water, or virgin Marys, and 
listen to what went on.  It sort of assisted in the inspiration of 
writing.  Better than all alone in the basement.  I was young.  I was 
beautiful.  But I was obviously busy and had something to do.  I was 
sitting at the counter.  To my left was a man drinking his drink. 
Let us call him Guy#1, and to his left was another man drinking his 
drink.   Let us call him Guy #2.

	Guy#2 leans out beyond Guy#1 to face me and says:  "Hey. 
What're you doin'?  Writin' a book?"  I answered honestly:  "Yes." 
Guy #2 says, "Can I read it?"  I answered honestly:  "No.  It's not 
finished; it's a work in progress, and I come here to write.  Sorry. 
It's nothing personal.  You can't read it."  Guy#2:  "Aw, c'mon. 
Please?"   I answered honestly:  "No.  I really meant it.  It's 
private."  Guy #2 tried another logical tack:  "Hey, what's your 
sign?"  I answered honestly:  "I can't believe you asked me that." 
Then Guy #2 turns to Guy#1 between us and whispers into his ear hole, 
"Gee, it sure is hard to pick up on a chick when she's writing a 
book."

	The point is, it didn't stop him.  I mean,  look at it this 
way:  I was a chick.  That meant, by definition that I needed picking 
up.  The book shouldn't get in the way.  Neither should the great 
grand gaping social intellectual divide that separated us.  This was 
a guy (#2) who clearly was doing what Mark Funk described as, "giving 
it a shot".  Just for your edification, aside from the fact that it 
makes a great recollection, as I keep it in my quiver of other 
pointed objects, I would have preferred that Guy#2 analyzed the 
situation a little more clearly for compatibility problems, and just 
held his fire.  On the other hand, if he really can't help it.  If 
men really honestly can't help it......you know, they're overcome by 
a sweeping, omnipotent hormonal tsunami, perhaps we should have 
special places to keep these helpless creatures until they can get a 
grip.

	One of the things I really like about getting older (and I 
can get pretty old) is that there is so much less unwanted attention. 
And  now, if anyone should get interested in me, I know it's not 
because I'm a chick that needs picking up.

	Love,

	Tobie



>
>Someone on this list suggested, in response to my story about 
>telepathy, that a man's mind really isn't that hard for a woman to 
>read.
>
>As I would tell my daughters, "that's a pretty big brush you just 
>painted me with!"  And OK, without talking for all men, I must admit 
>that there are a somewhat limited number of subjects that occupy my 
>mind most of the time, but I do occasionally think of other things.
>
>On the other hand, my daughter's experience last Saturday night does 
>seem to reinforce the concept of the male "one track mind."  Please 
>bear with me while I elaborate.
>
>My daughter, bless her heart, had offered to do some painting on our 
>house.  Because she was busy most of the day on Saturday, it was 
>quite late when she finally made a trip to the local home 
>improvement store to pick up the paint and other supplies for the 
>project.  There were several males in the store at that hour and 
>several of them "hit on" her.  As she said: "What were they 
>thinking, that I put on my grubby clothes and headed to the local 
>hardware store to pick up guys on a Saturday night?"
>
>Speaking as a mere male, the answer may be that it really doesn't 
>matter where we see a pretty girl, we can't resist "taking a shot." 
>They might also be thinking: "If she is here on a Saturday night, 
>she must be available/not in a relationship, so I have a chance." 
>Unfortunately for them, their feeble attempts to strike up a 
>conversation over a paint bucket were rebuffed.

-- 




Tobie Helene Shapiro
Berkeley, California   USA

tobie at shpilchas.net