A bitch

Each year, I flirt with the possibility of becoming one of E-R's North State Voices, but a certain innate laziness has prevented me from submitting any material for consideration. I have usually read others' articles, however, and found them charming and appropriate; that is, until Laurie Raucher's March 24th self-serving, male-bashing piece of drivel. Now, I seriously regret I did not make some attempt this year to supplant the likes of Raucher and her sarcasm and bitterness.

Marriage is a partnership in which each participant must understand and appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the other. It is not a construction project wherein one partner rebuilds the other. Considering Raucher's three failed marriages, it seems she never understood the common perception that there are basic differences between men and women which must be accommodated. As a man, I resent her insensitivity, and can certainly appreciate why two of her husbands sought the love and understanding she apparently denied them elsewhere.

Don't misunderstand. I was divorced once myself by a woman who refused to discuss the specifics. I only recalled one argument in seven years, and it was about money, so I was forced to suspect that was a major bone of contention. Because I continued to pursue the low-paying career of teaching, I decided that if finances were going to drive marriage, I would probably never be able to seek a second liaisson, so I raised my children alone. To risk another divorce would have been counterproductive. I might have inadvertently married someone like Raucher.