Looking into the Mirror of Men

Have you ever run into someone and after spending some time hitting the highlights of life with them look at them and say, "Gee, you're just like me but you're a dude!" There's a lot of good, bad and potentially ugly stuff that can come from observing this quirk of nature. Sometimes you burst forth with happiness at getting to laugh your ass of with this mirror image of yourself who thinks some stupid thing is just as hilarious as you do. Or when you both notice some minor detail that is invisible to everyone else. But then there's a tantrum thrown and you have to hide your head and secretly admit that you'd have done the same thing and vow to work on that temper of yours...The facets of your personality reflected back at you are endless.

Watching it through the mirror of the man can be enlightening and touching and cringe worthy all at the same time. Do I really do that? It looks like me, sounds like me but with my feline way I am not able to pull off the bigness of the male emotion. I'd like to mimic these at times- like the huge, joyful affection that my Man Twin can properly pull off with people but makes me look like a squeaky mouse. Or the bull that charges through the garden ripping and tearing out everything in his path like a Paul Bunyan but has me trailing quietly behind picking up the pieces. It's exciting! It's fun! And what's more- I don't have to make all the decisions! Someone else can actually match my energy and leave me in the dust....

Here's my top pick in my Men by Numbers game this week:

Running the Gauntlet of Madonia

In our family of animals we speak of "running the gauntlet" when one of our womenfolk is forced to introduce a male friend into the pack of females. The gal invariably resists, makes excuses and then tries to run for the hills until the guy punches through the resistance and ends up in the hornets nest of the Madonia Matriarchs. All hell breaks loose but after plying the males with food and drink the deer-in-the-headlight look subsides and they get into the groove of what it takes to hang in this feline family. As Soren said after an entire weekend ensnared in the Madonia web, "It's smooth sailing now..."

A younger female in the clan has finally graduated out of the total mess of what we still call a "high school education" without too many scars and to celebrate we tried to wrangle as many kinfolk as we could to hang out at mama bird's house without coming to fist-a-cuffs or experiencing a full blown Italian shouting match over some inadvertent petty insult. In fact, it all came together- a surprise visitor from the west coast appeared and a variety of siblings and odd friends all collided for a pretty damn good weekend...in my opinion. And I have a LOT of opinions.

(We whiled away the weekend in harmony by driving to St. George Island and Wakulla Springs, catching some local music, and sharing meals...Slideshow not loading today but I will figure it out somehow soon...))

Day of the Ed

Forced into a birthday celebration, Ed is dragged to the Wacissa and made to ferry around the Little General while patiently listening to 3 Chatty Cathys. Running the gauntlet of the local color and their kin was swiftly done and a dip in that cool, sweet spring water was key to Ed's day of fun.

Drinking beer helped....

(and he got to go to Cabo's where everyone licked their plates, drank margaritas and Ed got carrot cake. Happy Birthday Ed...)

Hugh Moves On...Sopchoppy Bound

Hugh had such a good time hanging out with the Usual Suspects at Truett Place that he may secretly just ride the entire 2200 miles around Tallahassee just so he could get the good meals, drink Cortaditas at the Red Eye and hang out on the porch writing all day....

Here he is pretending to leave for Sopchoppy and points west...