Boy Meets Girl (June 9th)

Find a husband who will take care of you in the manner to which you deserve.
            - J. Stevens

    My father is responsible for that particular quote. This was the advice he gave to me, many years ago, when I was still a high school student, and had no intention of finding myself a husband. In fact, it difficult enough for me to even snag a boyfriend, let alone a husband - I was convinced that no man would ever want me, and that I was destined to spend my life alone – with cats. To add insult to injury, I'm not even a cat person.
    But I found my husband. And yes, he does take care of me in the manner to which I deserve.
    And what manner is this? Well, to be treated with love, kindness and respect, of course!
    And so does everybody else. Which makes it such a tragedy when independent, educated, free-spirited women, end up with men who are uncaring, unkind and downright cruel.

    There is a small handful of men I know, who show absolutely no qualms about bullying their girlfriends in public.
    At one particular engagement party I attended, the bride-to-be made a harmless comment about the size of her ring. And from across a jam-packed room, her inebriated fiance started screaming, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I told you not to talk about that ring!"
    In an instant, that busy, noisy room was dead silent. A couple of guests told him to settle down.
    The bride-to-be refused to make eye-contact with anyone.
    A few moments later, people were talking again – but everything was a lot quieter this time.
    From a witness perspective, this is a tricky situation. No-one wants to interfere in a domestic dispute, no matter how public. And unless there is violence involved, I find that most people pretend as if they heard nothing. Which includes myself. My mind is screaming, "Dump the bastard!" while on the outside, I continue to smile politely, and try to salvage the rest of the conversation.
    I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of this...