The other day I was doing a little helping out at the offices of Waters Edge Church. Seated near me were two other volunteers working on their particular project. They happened to be women who were taking the opportunity to do a little man bashing amongst themselves to pass the time while they toiled. At one point I made a remark to let them know that I was indeed a man and I was sitting not more than 3 feet away. It seemed to me that if you are going to insult all men everywhere, you should at least take some simple precautions, such as ensuring that there are no men sitting 3 feet away from you who can clearly hear all that you are saying! Anyway, these two "hens" were going on and on about how men are so clueless, that they don't notice the most obvious things, how insensitive and simian they are in all that they say and all that they do. Well, needless to say, I was aghast. I was incredulous. I was, was, ..., well, convicted. They were right. Let me tell you a little shameful episode from my past.I was an undergraduate in college at the time. One day I was hustling from one class to the next. I had ten minutes to get across campus and once I got where I had to be, I still had to go to the bathroom. I had to use the facilities quite urgently. As I rushed into the lecture hall building, I made my way to the men's room (which seemed to be completely empty), slung my backpack in the corner, and sprinted to the row of urinals. Just as I was unzipping, I noticed a cleaning lady coming out of one of the stalls. It never occurred to me to stop or alter my attitude or what I was doing in any way. In fact, I flushed, washed my hands, and gave her a quick "how ya doin'" as I grabbed my backpack and hustled off to class. Hold on here! Hit the rewind button. In case you missed what I just said, there was a cleaning LADY in the bathroom with me. The awkwardness of the situation for the poor lady never occurred to me at the time. I was simian and clueless. This episode has folks everywhere cringing for all the rules and sensibilities that I broke. I admit it, I deserve to go on an all-banana diet and straight to the monkey hall of fame.
