On the 4th of July, hubby and I went to the beach to watch the fireworks. We left early to await the sunset and went about consuming a great deal of junk food. Normally I try not to eat anything with a shelf life longer than mine, but it is a tradition.
The sunset was amazing, long wisps of pink and orange, purple running right down to the water. Across the bay you could see the occasional firework in the distance, much farther away than the ones we were waiting for, but still pretty.
It started to get chilly and we wanted to get comfortable, so we sat in his truck and listened to music. Hubby has a new truck or a newer one anyway, and it is full of bells and whistles. I was trying out the new seats which recline in half a dozen ways, up, down, lower back support, less firm here, more firm there, quite fun. So there is a slight possibility I was exploring each possible position several times. I looked over and heard hubby growl. He does growl you know, even though he claims he doesn’t. He barks sometimes too, but he seldom bites.
Anyway, I heard it again so I said, “Did you just growl at me?”
“I don’t growl,” he said.
Yes he does. He growls when he’s getting annoyed about something. I had no idea what was getting on his nerves, totally clueless, so I assumed it probably had something to do with the new No Parking sign we were now parked in front of. I’d already heard what he thought about the sign when we arrived and since we were parked right in front of it, I knew he wasn’t overly impressed.
A few moments pass and I heard that growl again but now his teeth are just barely showing in the twilight and suddenly I’m thinking wolves, werewolves perhaps, and wondering if it’s a full moon, so I reclined my seat back again so I could peer out the window and see if the moon was rising, try to check and see if my werewolf theory had any merit…..
Suddenly he barks out, and he is definitely barking at this point, “Knock it off, you’re going to break my seats!” And then it dawns on me, he’s not a werewolf after all. He’s annoyed with me because I’ve been playing with his seats. Well duh! The poor guy has had four kids, a series of broken seats, torn off rear view mirrors, and just last week one of the guys he works with dented his door. My werewolf has post-traumatic-don’t mess-with-my-truck-stress.
“Oh my, what a manly bark you have there,” I said, with much admiration, which of course makes him laugh. I promise not to break his seats.
“You were growling so much I thought maybe you were just turning into a wolf, like Grandma did in Little Red Riding Hood,” I say.
“I don’t growl,” he says.
He does.
I just raise one eyebrow and look at him. At that very moment what comes on the radio, but Little Red Riding Hood.
“I don’t believe it….” he says.
“Believe it,” I tell him.
Synchronicity, it’s everywhere. A gift from He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works…..
Wally Fry said:
Gee IB don’t ya know don’t mess with a man’s truck!
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insanitybytes22 said:
LOL, I know, right? You would think I would know this by now 😉
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Wally Fry said:
You would think
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Rajiv said:
it is everywhere!
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Daring to look... said:
Not to be too contentious or anything and ruin the story, but wouldn’t the truck more accurately be described as belonging to both of you? I mean, I get it, it’s “his truck”, or whatever, but honestly, when is he ever going to sit in the passenger seat of “his” truck? (and what kind of manly truck would it really be if you could break the seats simply by touching the buttons designed for such a purpose?)
Sorry, guess I don’t know how to side with your hubby’s post-traumatic-dented-truck-growling-disorder, err, whatever, today.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Ah yes, mandated egalitarianism rears it’s head… 😉
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Daring to look... said:
(?) It’s hardly “mandated” if it’s a conscious choice made by both partners is a marriage… 😉
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insanitybytes22 said:
And yet egalitarians cannot let it be even in other people’s marriages, so it is very nearly mandated, indeed. Also the laws on the books, community property rights, no fault divorce, etc, as well as the relentless shaming that goes on if one dares to suggest anything besides complete egalitarianism, such as the complimentary nature of the sexes, plays a vital role in enforcing those cultural mandates.
It’s a bit funny,my mother said the same darn thing, “it’s your truck, too!” So I said, “just let the poor man have his truck, he worked for it, he paid for it, let him enjoy it.” Now she is not speaking to me again.
And you yourself express concern over what is simply a rather fun moment in time, so whether a literal mandate or a cultural mandate, there is no doubt in my mind that the egalitarian cops are always lurking about, ready to pounce 😉
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Daring to look... said:
Hey, you were the one who took it upon yourself to share said “fun moment in time”, and your husband’s growl-denial, I simply joined in the conversation…
(it’s not like I was hiding in the bushes behind your truck on the Fourth of July, looking for some opportunity to jump out and impose my totali-egali-tarianism on you….) 🙂 🙂 (double smiley!)
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insanitybytes22 said:
“totali-egali-tarianism” I like it. I may just get a bumper sticker, it would be great conversation starter 😉
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Daring to look... said:
Hmm, maybe I should hurry up and copyright that…
Nah. But really? You don’t REALLY think I’m some kind of egali-Nazi, do you? I can assure you that my wife would attest that I too have my wolf (/bear, /ogre, etc.) side, even if I’m not really one of those “I love my pickup” kind of guys… Believe me, I am truly not some sort of liberal, “egalitarianist” or whatever, (even if I do think women should be able to get paid the same amount of money for doing the same amount of work, etc, though I wouldn’t seek to have such a thing “enforced” via law/government…)
Women are women, men are men, and both uniquely created by God, with unique gifts and things to bring to the table, (a topic you write about so often with great profundity) which I suppose is a reality that I don’t see any mere act of simply co-owning some material thing, or receiving certain pay, would ever actually affect or diminish in any meaningful way…. I guess I just don’t see everything as some facet of the larger gender debate or whatever. I see it as being pretty simple really. Yes, men and women are different, but at the same time, there ARE actually instances where we are both, just, people, too, who should be able to expect certain things from each which (gasp) transcend some kind of masculine/feminine definition. (no…?)
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Paul said:
Ha! “Hey there little Red Riding Hood, You sure are lookin’ good…” Grrrr!
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Rebecca LuElla Miller said:
Have I mentioned what a good writer you are, IB? Love the story.
And I couldn’t help but thinking, your poor hubby loses the argument about him growling. He can’t get in the last word when you posted it on your blog! Hahaha.
Becky
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insanitybytes22 said:
Thanks for your kind words, Becky.
He may have lost the argument but he won the bag of cheetohs 😉
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Kate Minter said:
Hahahahah 🙂 You do spin a good yarn 🙂
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