As
we approach Valentine’s Day, we think about love and relationships.
But sometimes life doesn’t allow love to proceed as expected.
What
if you get caught in a crowd? Then you hear
something rather disturbing. It is hard to decide what to do, when asked what
you . . .
Overheard
“The
Innocent Bystander”
It is amazing the
things people say.
Let me tell you what
I overheard.
I was standing behind
these two guys in a crowd.
It was pretty noisy,
but I still was able to hear every word.
The first man looked
at the second and began to lament,
“Why am I not able to
be happy with my wife?”
The second man
responded in a clear dulcet tone,
“It is just one of
the burdens in a married man’s life.”
Tears welled up in
the eyes of the first.
“I try and try to do
things right,” he cried.
“But the more I give,
the more she wants from me.
I am losing both my
mind and my pride.”
“My wife is pretty smart,
but I do not let her control me,” the second man
said.
“To each of her
requests,” I meagerly reply, “Yes honey, I will do my best.”
“In my mind, however,
I am thinking, no way am I playing your game.
You are not my boss.
I am my own man. So let us give this a rest.”
The first man, in
quite a tizzy, jabbered about killing his wife.
He groaned, “It is
either that or putting a gun to my head.
I have thought about
it quite seriously, I am sorry to say.
Sometimes I think
about smothering her as she lies there in bed.”
“I am sure you will get
caught,” the second man gasped.
“It is better you
take another direction and explore divorce.”
“But,” the first
said. “She will take all my money, all the things that make my
life worthwhile.
There must be another
way, one in which I do not take a huge loss.”
Their conversation
went on and on, with no end in sight.
The first guy kept
coming up with all kinds of ridiculous and unworkable
ploys.
The second refuted
each and contributed laborious conversational noise.
But then, he looked
at his friend and said, “You know, we boys must be
boys.”
He patted his pal on
the back, turned, gave him a wry smile and sauntered
away.
away.
The friend stood there
at a loss for words and not too enthused.
He hung his head down
and seemed in total despair.
Now, more than ever,
he was confused.
As he looked up, he
saw me standing to his rear.
He wondered aloud how
much of the conversation I had overheard.
I looked at him in
dismay, thinking to myself, What should I
say?
Slowly, I shook my head
and stammered, “Overheard? Not a word, not a
word.”
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