‘Thus we may see,’ quoth he, ‘How the world wags:

‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,

‘And after one hour more ’twill be eleven;

‘And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,

‘And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot.’

— Shakespeare, As You Like it, II, 7

Time and tide wait for no one, and neither do many women, as they ripe and ripe, as the above quote says. Women’s lives are dictated by a timeline that’s entrenched in their fibre from the day that they were born. Women live their lives by the clock, either the visible, tangible timepiece, or the invisible one, the biological one that really rules them.

It’s beyond their control in the very same way that birds fly south for the winter, or salmon swim back upstream to spawn at a certain time of the year. Women are but marionettes to the master puppeteer of time. So men should not blame them or hold it against them for wanting to live their lives based on a timeline, for it’s just their nature, and bigger than all of us. Time for women, right after some responses to relationships.

Mr Robinson,

There is nothing romantic about a relationship. For too long, our society has been romanticising this issue. The bottom line of all relationships is that of a monetary nexus. It’s about what the guy can do for the girl and vice-versa. Cohabiting with someone doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be able to relate to them. Instead, it means that you are deriving benefits from living in the same circumference as that other individual. I once had a girlfriend who wanted us to get married, not because she and I could relate to each other, but because by getting married, she could get a green card to stay in the USA. At the end of the day, it all boils down to benefits, and that’s all that matters. So much for true love.

K Williams

New York, NY

Teerob,

Everything that you said about relationships is true. In a relationship, women always make demands about what they want and how they want to be treated, yet few are willing to give a man the same things that they ask of her. A woman wants a man to be faithful to her and to treat her well, yet there is hardly any woman who will do that for a man. For a relationship to work, it has to be equal treatment. Women should stop being so demanding.

D Cam

Tony,

I think that a part of the problem is that some men actually stop being men, getting complacent and let their guard down. Next thing you know, the woman stops getting attention, the man stops keeping his word, stops taking the initiative, stops being in charge, and she loses respect for him. Once a woman loses respect for a man, it’s all downhill after that, and she despises him. So she gets upset, makes a big deal out of small things, and has a subconscious way of blaming him for her unhappiness. Society seems to have given women all the rights to think and say anything they please, and the man must always suck it up for a peaceful life, or to ensure that he keeps getting the gift that keeps on giving. But what this does is to devalue the man and make him the woman’s bitch.

Duane

UK

So women are driven by time, that’s a fact, but who can blame them? After all, girls mature faster than boys, and even earlier nowadays, and this maturity is usually heralded by none other than a monthly time clock. Period. Her very life is dictated by this cycle of time and men have no grasp of that concept.

When this happens and the hormones rage, the young female now goes into oestrus (or estrus, as the Americans spell it) even though she has no idea what is happening to her. It’s time for her first kiss, followed closely by the time for her first serious boyfriend. But you know boys already, they have no concept of time and neither do they know when to stop. So very often, that first kiss, or first pledge to be her serious boyfriend often leads to serious business.

That being said, there are many women who set a time on when to lose their virginity, and if doesn’t go by a certain age, they become very upset, morose and melancholy. “Say what Enid, you’re 16 and still a virgin… what you waiting on, Christmas?”

That being said, there are many women who set a time on when to lose their virginity, and if doesn’t go by a certain age, they become very upset, morose and melancholy. “Say what Enid, you’re 16 and still a virgin… what you waiting on, Christmas?”

Yes, they doth dictate and put pressure on many young women to do what others say they should do, telling them that time is going by rapidly. Still, there are exceptions, and I have this female friend who does not cease to remind me that she was a virgin until age 27. But the very fact that it’s a big deal to her merely corroborates my point about time being a major factor in women’s lives.

Okay, so now it’s time to settle down. Yes Siree, after a certain age a young woman must settle down, even though it’s no big thing if a man still remains out of the corral and can roam footloose and fancy free. “Say what, your daughter is 28 and not yet settled down… what is her problem?” See the pressure of time… for women, dictated by other women, friends, so called friends and family?

But even while dating, women have timeframes and set time boundaries that men have to abide by. Rarely will she kiss on the first date… the time is not right. Never will she have sex even after a few dates… enough time has not elapsed. Men couldn’t care less about this timeline, and if he had his way, he would have his way with her from the very first time he took her out.

But just to be the consummate gentleman, he won’t try to consummate the relationship, but plays along with her timeline, watches her clock and makes no advances. But he won’t wait too long, and she know this too, so after a certain time, and at a prescribed time dictated by nature, she will allow him into the portals of heaven, making him gratefully think, “It’s about time.”

Then there is the biological clock that hangs like the sword of Damocles over the head of the man. Yes, the clock not only pressures her, but bears down on the man too. For when her clock strikes noon, he’s the one who goes cuckoo. ‘Ask not for whom the ‘belle’ tolls, she tolls for thee.’ Apologies there, for corrupting that line from John Donne’s poem. “Listen, I’m in my 30s now and my clock is ticking, so either you crap or get off the pot.” No apologies there. It’s about time, and it’s about time for women.

Women even put a time frame on relationships, as if it goes on for a certain time and she sees no ‘progress’, she starts to make noise, gets miserable, and if she can, moves on. Men never count the years, but women do, and will even label the time as being wasted, instead of relishing the experience. “Five years I spent with you, in the prime of my life, but wasted on the likes of you.”

Men never ever say that, as they have no concept of time. “Is five years already, honey, you sure? My my, time fly so fast I never even notice.” And aye, that’s the rub, as men cannot grasp the concept of time… for women, and cannot read the female clock. It’s a fact that women remember and place great emphasis on dates, anniversaries, birthdays, first kiss, first hug, first sexual experience.

Men, on the other hand, can’t read female time. The only thing that bothers a man is the length of time between each sexual experience. “Two months now and me nuh get nutten, and me nuh inna prison — something wrong.” Women can do without sex for years without giving it a thought — especially the married ones. “Dennis, are you sure it’s three months now we haven’t made love? It doesn’t seem so long to me, you must be mistaken.” Hey, he who doesn’t feel it knows it.

I’ll always remember my female friend who went 10 years without sex and didn’t even miss a beat. And she was in her prime too, in her 30s. “Oh, me couldn’t bother yah, it’s no big thing,” she told me. Maybe another time frame that men have is when to have their first sexual encounter, and some lie about it. “Yes man, I bruck my ducks from age nine.”

Some may do, but the mean average age here is 13 years for boys and 16 for girls. Maybe the only big timeline that a man looks forward to is the time to get his driver’s licence. So all in all, it’s time… for women, and that makes them tick. More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: What a fine mess we’ve got ourselves into with our current water crisis — a crisis which has been brewing for many years, but only previously saved by the numerous hurricanes in the region and near misses that dumped water on our island. Now, for the first time, we had no storms last year and now there is no water. I can’t see why people are surprised, as it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or even a water engineer to know that our problem was brought on by our own mismanagement and folly. Just last week my friends went rafting on the mighty Rio Grande… yet came back home to no water in their homes. Water water everywhere, but not a drop… in the pipes. But even so, regardless of who’s at fault, people should still conserve and stop washing cars with hoses. Use a bucket, it works just as well.