Me 'n the girls...

So here's who I spent my weekend with (two weekends ago...)

Pretty nice, right?

(Oh, and with ten, count 'em, rugrats too)

And here's the thing and the reason for the post.

I was the only dude there.

Can you believe that?

I don't get it.  It's the same thing every year.  We get invited back to the cottage (one of Niki's highschool friends) and we're told 'the girls' are coming.  Every year I ask, "Any of the dudes coming?"  Every year I'm the only one.

The only guy with four girls for the weekend--in bikinis.

(not me...them)

And I'm like 'are they stupid or something'?

(not the girls...the guys)

'Course, I know they're not and the 'dudes' in question are friends of mine so I know that they're typically working hard enough that they can't get away.  But I'll be straight up and say that I wonder if sometimes they don't come 'cause the thought of spending a few days with nothin' but girls and kids around 'aint exactly their cup 'o tea.

And remember these are my friends I'm talking about, so I'm not 'hating' I'm just wondering out loud (for the sake of my 'ever growing audience'--just wait 'till my new TV show hits September 7th...) if they hesitate a second because of the company.

'Cause I know it's true of some guys that they don't exactly like girls.

I've always like girls.

Since I was little.  I've always gotten along real well with the 'gentler' set.  I like how they look, I like how they think, I like how they socialize, I like makin' 'em happy, I like listening to 'em talk.

I like girls.

And... 

(here's where we get 'post worthy' I hope)

I wonder if some filmmakers and some pastors don't.

Seriously.

A know a lot of Churches that are pastored by guys who are 'dudes'.  'Dudes' to the point that they seem to not 'like' women.  And I'm not looking to get into theology arguments about gender-roles etc. here, I'm just thinking that if you don't have a genuine affection for the people you pastor, there might be an impact in the things you choose to do and not to do and the manner in which you do them.

(and I'm not 'saying' they don't like women--I'm saying it can sometimes 'seem' that way and in show business [and yes I class both industries in that category] perception is reality...)

Same for filmmakers.

I read somewhere once that a good 'director' needs to be equally in-touch with him feminine and masculine sides (and I'm not looking to get into any sociology arguments about gender-equity here...) meaning he needs to be able to (on the masculine side) 'command' his crew, demand performance etc. while being able to (at the same time and on the feminine side) connect on a deeply empathic and emotional level with his actors for the sake of performance.

The same is true of screenwriting or sermonizing.

You have to be able to get 'inside the head' of your characters and your audience.  And, chances are, some of your characters and 50% of your audience is/are female.

And what do you do if you don't 'like' women?

I think you create stilted art and build stilted Churches.

And how 'bout if you're neither a filmmaker nor a preacher/pastor?

Well, guaranteed, you work with men and women.  Guaranteed you socialize with men and women.  If you're in a relationship you're in constant contact with a man or a woman.  If you have kids they're gonna' be men or women some day.

And I'm thinking that if you can find a way to develop a genuine interest in and affection for the men and women in your life you'll find yourself more richly connected to the World around you and its created order and I'm betting that'll make you more effective at what you do.

'Cause it 'aint right to leave me alone with the chicks.

It 'aint right.

But it's fun.

So have more fun and do better work.  Go find some chicks and hang with 'em a bit.

T