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MY SUN DAY NEWS

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Sun City in Huntley
 

I love my wife, I really do, but sometimes…

By Chris La Pelusa

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I were enjoying a fine summer evening on the porch of our new house (light breeze in the air, streetlights just coming on, a little red left in the western sky, neighborhood quiet and content), when my wife said, ā€œYour columns havenā€™t been so great lately.ā€

I nearly spilled my coffee.

Jeez, what a thing to say to a guy, I thought. And then I reminded myself that this was a benign criticism from my wife. Normally, when my writing isnā€™t up to par, a very different string of words (not suitable for print) comes out.

ā€œReally,ā€ she said. ā€œEver since we moved, your columns have been not as good as they used to be.ā€

My ego twitched.

ā€œHow so?ā€ I asked, wanting to say, Can you blame a guy? We just moved and expanded to a weekly paper. Iā€™ve been a little distracted. Major life changes have a way of hampering creativity. She knew all this, of course, so I kept my mouth shut. And then she hit me where it hurt.

ā€œThey havenā€™t been very funny.ā€

Now hold the train. Not funny? Not funny? How could you say that? Iā€™m a married man. All I have is funny to fall back on. And no matter how bad my jokes, itā€™s your job to laugh at them. Isnā€™t that the unspoken credo between husbands and wives, after all?

Getting defensive now, what I also didnā€™t say, was moving has put me more in touch with my feminine side than Iā€™m comfortable with. So maybe my creative side has taken a back seat. Where I formerly didnā€™t pay much attention to window coverings and accent pieces, Iā€™m now saying things like, ā€œOh, that would be cute [CUTE!] by the fireplace.ā€

ā€œAll Iā€™m saying is Mason wrote a really good column [sheā€™s referring to his one last edition on superstitions].ā€

And the blade sinks deeper. Outshined in my wifeā€™s eyes by my protĆ©gĆ©? And arenā€™t I too young to have a protĆ©gĆ©? I wanted to pick up the phone and fire Mason.

ā€œSo what should I do?ā€ I asked. ā€œMake something up so I can beat the pants off Masonā€™s writing?ā€

And since when did this become a competition between Mason and I? Of course, if I said this to her, she would have undoubtedly sighed, ā€œMale prideā€ and said ā€œIā€™m not making it a competition. You are.ā€

You bet I am.

(Sorry, Mason, but when it comes to my wifeā€™s respect of my writing, no holds barred. Game on.)

ā€œJust pick up the pace a bit,ā€ she responded.

Will do, honey. And I think you just gave me all the material I need.





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