Tuesday, Nov. 04, 2003
Dear Diary:

So what I want to know is how come it is that women are branded as the gender that gossips and that somehow Men Are Above All That? Huh? HUH?

As I see it, this whole Only Women Gossip business is one of the Great Canards, somewhere in between "One Size Fits All" and "This Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You". This realization crystallized yesterday after I spent a large part of my day in the company of men.

My morning began on a job site with the spousal unit, helping him throw construction debris into a dump truck to be hauled away for disposal.

I know. My pretty, pretty gym muscles doing actual work.

It's hard not to bitter sometimes, hard, I tell you.

My job was to pitch stuff from the back of the largish pile forward so that it would be easily tossed into the dump truck. This meant I was out of sight a fair part of the time and I think the guys kind of forgot I was there. As we worked, the spousal unit and the dump truck guy were talking.

Were they talking about the news?

Nope.

The weather?

A little bit.

Construction stuff?

Nope.

They were talking about who was with who, who had dumped who, who was slipping around on who.

In other words, they were gossiping.

AHA!

Now you could argue that an isolated incident hardly makes a case so ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you Exhibit B, my experience shortly afterwards, when I motored down to the gym.

I'm at the gym three mornings a week like clockwork and I've been doing that for over a year now. In a sense, I've become wallpaper for the folks who show up the same time as I do, something in the background that's always there. Since I do a lot of free weight work, that means I tend to be in the company of guys when I work out.

Now I think we can all agree that in a public place a mature, adult person would give others their personal space, find ways to ignore their conversations, give them privacy.

Someday I may actually become a mature, adult person.

Hey, it could happen.

But right now I must confess that when I'm in a public situation I become Marn, Chronic Eavesdropper. Grocery stores, restaurants, the gym--if people are talking, I will listen in. I know. It's rude, it's wrong and I Cannot Help Myself.

So yesterday in the gym, as usual, I listened in on the guys.

Were they talking about the news?

Nope.

The weather?

Nope.

Workout stuff?

Yes, sometimes.

But mostly, mostly they were talking about who was with who, who had dumped who, who was slipping around on who. The big topic of the day was how last weekend they had seen a mutual friend in a bar, a man married less than a year, who had taken off his wedding ring before he went in.

In other words, they were gossiping.

What I want to know is how they've managed to make it seem as if we womens are the only ones who indulge in this blood sport. I am stunned at how well they've handled the PR aspect of this.

Oh, an speaking of stunned, I still haven't found those delectable miniature Snickers bars.

The spousal unit brought one upstairs last night after supper for my dessert. Thus (through the application of Sherlock Holmes levels of logic) from that I deduced that they are somewhere on the ground floor of the house.

The hunt continues ...

--Marn

Mileage on the Marnometer: 491.04 miles (790.3 kilometers)
Ten percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.Half way smoochTen percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.Ten percent there rubber duck.
Goal for 2003: 500 miles - 804.5 kilometers

Going Nowhere Collaboration

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Want to delve into my sordid past?
She's mellllllllllllllting - Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 - Back off, Buble - Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 - Dispersed - Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 - Nothing comes for free - Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 - None of her business - Friday, Nov. 04, 2011 -


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