A Real Man Knows

Because a real man knows a real woman

When he sees her

And a real woman knows a real man

Ain't afraid to please her

And a real woman knows a real man

Always comes first

And a real man just can't deny

A woman's worth

-Alicia Keys 'A Woman's Worth'

Cultural Differences

I feel more at home in towns throughout the true south.  The men treat all women as ladies, until a woman proves otherwise.  It is normal and right to see a man take his lady by the arm and walk down the street with her, not walk ahead of her like she's invisible, and then turn around to tell her to hurry up!  Women of the true south are lovely, fresh and kind because they are treasured and cared for, and in turn they care for their men.  In the south, it's this kind of wierd juxtaposition where women are worshipped, yet subtley kept in their place.  It's not in your face, and we call it tradition.  I read somewhere that southern women are one of our countries "best kept secrets".  I'll take a little patronizing with sunshine and smiles, over gray skies, attitude and being treated like a goddamn slave any day!

Man-Whore

Once a man-whore, always a man-whore.

A respectable girl doesn't like to get involved with a whore any more than a respectable man does.  ICKY!  That kind of extreme-marathon-style-sleeping-around-icky is like tree sap that you can't get off of the person you're dating.  It keeps sticking to you and you can't get rid of it, you can't stop thinking about it, and the more you realize they'll never stop sleeping around, and always have a sticky coating of man-whore on them, you can see that the dirt sticks to them, and the grosser they get.

Worse

Every time he apologizes for one thing, he turns around and does something worse.

Pheonix

She was beautiful.  She was so beautiful, just in jeans a t-shirt and gym shoes, that men would trip in the street trying to get a good look at her.  She was my mother.  She was tall and thin with long, dark hair, green cat shaped eyes, and an unassuming disposition.  She never saw her beauty, never realized it, until decades later when she was wiser; then she realized what she had; what was lost.  She was blinded by my father.  My mother's beauty, inside and out, consumed my father; he loved her and hated her for the way she made him feel.  He controlled her, he put her down, he critisized her instead of complimenting her, he was insanely jealous, instead of celebrating her.  He cheated on her constantly.  He threatened to kill himself if she left him.  She was afraid of him.  He took advantage of her, he got her pregnant and trapped her.  Enter: me.  

My dad was famous in his small town, in a bad way.  He was incredibly good looking and incredibly frightening.  Ladies loved him, men feared him.  My mom said that people couldn't believe it when she told them that she was his wife.  I suppose she seemed to innocent.  She was. 

A few years of emotional abuse went on, and there was nothing left of the vibrant, happy woman she once was.  Her dimming light, finally went out, and she sank into a deep depression for a decade.

Then, like a pheonix rising from the ashes, she woke up.  She got help.  She got angry.  Very, very angry.  She escaped.  And she won't let it happen to me.  

The End.   

Respect

I will never be controlled.  My spirit has always been a rebel, independent and free.  If I want to follow a man, it will be because I want to, because I respect him; I see that he can lead better than me, and then we will be a team.  Respect is earned, right?  So earn it.

I Know

4 In The Morning

Waking up to find another day
The moon got lost again last night
But now the sun has finally had its say
I guess I feel alright

But it hurts when I think
When I let it sink in
It's all over me
I'm lying here in the dark
I'm watching you sleep, it hurts a lot
& all I know is
You've got to give me everything
Nothing less cause
You know I'll give you all of me

I'll give you everything that I am
I'm handin' over everything that I've got
Cause I wanna have a really true love
I don't ever wanna have to go & give you up
Stay up till Four In The Morning & the tears are falling
& I want to make it worth the fight
What have we been doing for all this time?
Baby if we're gonna do it, come on do it right

All I wanted was to know I'm safe
Don't want to lose the love I've found
Remember when you said that you would change
Don't let me down
It's not fair how you are
I can't be complete, can you give me more?
& all I know is
You got to give me everything
& nothing less cause
You know I give you all of me

I'll give you everything that I am
I'm handin' over everything that I've got
Cause I wanna have a really true love
Don't ever wanna have to go & give you up
Stay up till Four In The Morning & the tears are falling
& I want to make it worth the fight
What have we been doing for all this time?
Baby if we're gonna do it, come on do it right

Oh please, you know what I need
Save all your love up for me
We can't escape the love
Give me everything that you have

& all I know is
You got to give me everything
& nothing less cause
You know I'll give you all of me

- 4 In The Morning by Gwen Stefani

Answers

"Understanding is a kind of ecstasy."

-Dr. Carl Sagan