Friday, February 5, 2010

The WALL-E in all men..

Us guys are often misunderstood. I think the nature of men is typically a dark territory, a mystery, especially to women; a black box containing an odd mix of little boys with toys and grown up solitary moods and reactions. Then there is the sex thing. We get pegged as simply being motivated by sex alone. Not so.

Modern society does not help at all. For years now, it has been seeking to emasculate men to nothing more then hairy women driven by testosterone and immaturity while women are told they don't need a man and not to rely on anyone.

"A women needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." Feminist slogan


And, some men are self centered jerks. Granted. But most of us are good guys trying to be what we need to be to those we love. And, in that sense all one needs to do to understand the true nature of men is to watch the movie WALL-E.

WALL-E in all his glory.



In many ways we still are, at heart, little boys . We love a good toy and can be focused on a thing like...oh, bike riding for instance....to the point of annoyance for the ladies in our lives. But ladies, you need to know this: We can compartmentalize. The sports or hobbies in our lives do not need be a competition for your attention. We need those things in our lives to keep us feeling young and vibrant. And, in turn, if things are in balance, it will make us better men to be around the rest of the time.


Besides the play-time, we go to work. We understand duty. We are wired to provide and support those we love. It does not mean you are weak and unable, it is just what we are called to do from the beginning. We go to work when we don't want to, when it is hard, and when it is boring. It is, in a very practical way, us saying "I love you". Duty, sacrifice, honor, even to the point of death... it is what we do even when all common sense says otherwise and it is unspoken and understood by other men. Band of Brothers.


Unless something is broken inside, we are quite often softies at heart. All that bravado will crumble and cry when the dog dies, even if the tears don't show. That calm resolve you see that seems cold and unfeeling may just be our way of steeling ourselves to deal with what needs to be done.



We are often called by a need to explore and push the limits of ourselves and the world around us. There is some part of us that calls us to the top of Everest; to do the difficult thing. A goal is not just a good idea, it often gives us purpose.



EVE

WALL-E is rusty, short, and built like a little tractor. EVE is sleek, smooth, sexy, dangerous and marvelously, mysteriously wonderful. EVE comes to love WALL-E for what he does and is inside and  she sees beyond the rust and bent parts. WALL-E falls in love with EVE at first sight before he even knows what she can do. We are visually motivated and to us, you are curiously magical creatures that we are enraptured by. And when she does fly, it is marvelous. We are Earth bound, rusty, bent and task driven by nature. EVEs are ethereal and different and wonderful and barely touch the ground and, if we are ever truly honest with ourselves, secretly we wonder what rocket ships like you are doing hanging around around with tractors like us.



And when we find our EVE, we want more than sex although that is always there in our minds. Can't help it. But we need a companion. We don't want you walking 2 steps behind us but if you lead it will destroy a part of the best of us.  Sit down or walk beside us and we will go there together.



We are uncurable romantics if you let us be. We may not always do it very well and sometimes we may get it all wrong, but we want to offer our best from what we think is swell. It may be a diamond ring or it may be a Zippo lighter, but we want to share the parts of our lives that we think are special. Be patient with us.



The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18

Thanks WALL-E. You did good. I pray I do the same.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for these words Granny. This is about the first blog/article I've ever shared with my wife of any meaning. I know these to be true, but hopefuuly she got something out of it as well. Somehow it's been easier now talking about all my bikes and rides and trails - even though I know she doesn't share my enthusiasm.

grannygear said...

Thanks so much for your comments.

From one WALL-E to another.

grannygear

Unknown said...

Love the WALL-E story! I've watched that movie like 30 times (I have a 3 year old who loves it). But, you can add that Irina Dunn said that horrific statement about the fish and the bicycle in the 1970s. I wouldn't let people like that go without notice.

Also, my husband will definitely agree with you about mountain biking! He's an avid rider.