Women are soft, mild Pitiful and flexible; Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, Rough, remorseless. – Shakespeare, 1, Henry, VI, 1, 4

How can one person be so many things at the same time, all rolled up in one package? How can one entity be so complex, have so many different compartments, chambers, rooms and corridors. I’m sure that their house is not many mansions, as said in the Bible, and neither are they legion, for they are many, as also said in the good book.

But still, they are made up of many complex moods, characteristics and personalities. The sum total of her parts, far more mystifying than what is seen as the whole.

She is soft, mild, pitiful and flexible, even as she is stern, obdurate, flinty, rough and remorseless. What a conundrum. Women are all these things and more.

Men are then expected to decipher, to figure out and cope with all those complexities that rival the shifting hues of a chameleon who can change colour at will.

The octopus can also do that, as well as our very own green lizard that can change from pale green to blue, brown and black, all depending on what mood they are in.

The darker the colour, the more bringle she gets. But beyond all this, men see women as different things, all depending on what stage of life she happens to be in. We’ll find out how men see women, right after these responses to ‘Pay to play’.

Hi Tony,

As you pointed out with the phrase, ‘Pay the piper’, to give money in return for goods and services, these could very well be groceries, electricity, rent, etc.

And we all know what services some women provide to men, and some women too. It seems, however, that the women who receive payment to play are calling the shots.

But ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune’. Something those old foolish men should learn.

Peter

Teerob,

It’s a two-way street. If those men are willing to pay hard, cold cash for soft, warm loving and affection, then why should the women turn it down?

It’s the old economic example of goods and services and demand and supply. This concept predates the Bible, as men have always paid for the company of women, from Japanese Geishas to French consorts.

Some men aren’t even aware that they are paying, while others gladly part with their wealth. That’s just the way it is. Venus Are women all things to all men, or are they some things to some men?

Some are some things to all men, while others are all things to some men. Confused? The bottom line is, a woman fills certain roles depending on her stage of life when the man encounters her.

What is certain is that in all stages, the woman is the one who is the object of desire, affection, lust and ultimately, gratitude. In the early stages when a woman is still a little girl, she’s the boy’s playmate.

Most little boys have them. I know that I did. And if you watch local TV, you’ll see the Vienna sausage commercial with Shelly-Ann and those two cute kids, where the boy offers his playmate some of the sausages from his tin.

As you can see, even from that age, the male knows how to win the female. Offer her trinkets, baubles, bangles and beads. If you aren’t up to that, then a tin of sausages might do the trick.

Hey, watch the commercial and see for yourself. Subliminal seduction in its true form. Is that what they call puppy love? As the female gets older, the boy now has a serious crush on her.

That’s bigger than puppy love. And we know what puppies become. He sees her looking all cute and pretty, and his hormones and genes start to send him all sorts of signals and crazy impulses that confuse him. She has changed and he now sees her differently.

As you can see, even at this young stage, the female has a profound effect on the male who now sees her in a different form. But her effect on him can last a lifetime.

So many men can still recall how young females affected and shaped their lives. But there’s much more to come. Let’s jump to the teenage years when the hormones are now raging out of control, the heart is pumping, the blood is boiling, and the libido is at its peak.

Men… er… young boys, now see women… er… young girls, in a different light. Now they become their objects of desire, and everything in sight is pursued. Young women are now viewed as sex objects. Mothers, lock up your daughters. At this stage, young women can have a devastating effect on young boys.

Hey, at this stage even grown men can turn fool, much less young boys. And even though they put on a façade of being cool, smooth and in control, it’s really the woman who yanks his chain. She’s now in girlfriend mode, and if she leaves him for another, he’ll be shattered. As time goes by, the man now sees the woman as his fiancée.

He views her differently as he has selected her, culled her from the herd, separated her from the pack, slipped a ring on it, and staked his claim. She’s no longer his puppy love, his crush, his girlfriend, but now his fiancée. Hop skip and jump and the man now sees the woman as his wife.

This is serious, for she is viewed as different from the others. After all, as the old saying goes, “Some you [have] fun with, others you marry.” See how differently the man sees this woman?

I know of men who have girlfriends, leave them, marry someone else, then still have that same girlfriend on the side afterwards. Some women are simply not good enough to marry, in his eyes.

What I can never understand is why the girlfriend takes him back after he marries the other woman. Is it low self-esteem on her part, or is she just desperate to have a man? That’s how differently men see women, and it all depends at what stage in life he sees her too.

Sometimes he’ll meet a woman at a certain stage and has no interest, but meets her later and is all smitten. “My, my, is little Sheila that get so big now? Wow, can we have lunch?” Is that because women know what colour to morph into?

What’s important though is if the woman is a good companion to the man. This supersedes all stages, for even from a young age, if the little girl is a good companion and playmate to the boy, she’ll have him eating out of her hand, or giving her sausage out of a tin.

He’ll always want to be in her company. If as a teenager she’s not only his girlfriend, but also his true good friend who he can share almost anything with, he’ll always want to be by her side.

And if his fiancée is his a good companion, he’ll cling to her like white on rice, or like tar on a road. It’s very important that a man’s woman is also his friend, and even better if she’s his best friend.

It always pleases me to hear a man say, “This is my wife and my best friend.” Not to be confused with the man who came home and asked loudly, “Where is my wife and best friend?”

To which the helper answered, “Your wife is in the bedroom, sir, and your best friend just ran out the back door.” That’s different. Too many women make the mistake and think that men are one-dimensional and see them as one thing only — an alluring sex symbol.

Sometimes a man will prefer a good friend to a lover any day, a fact that many women fail to grasp. “How come she so pretty and can’t keep a man?” “All she have is looks, she can be friend to nobody… too into herself.”

Pretty women come and go, but a good friend will last forever. And finally, as the years roll by, a man may see his woman as his nurse.

Sad to say, life can be at times cruel, but a good woman by a man’s side can make such a difference in those twilight years. So ladies, are you all these to men, or do you offer one thing only?

Remember, men see women in different ways at different stages of their lives. More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: This is something that I keep seeing daily: the lack of emerging good tradesmen.

Our educational system made such an error from many years ago when it downgraded and denigrated technical schools. Luckily that has changed somewhat and children are learning technical skills.We need good agriculturalists, plumbers, electricians, furniture manufacturers, welders. There is always work for those professions. When I call my plumber, I have to make an appointment more than I have to do with a dentist.

The man is so busy that he can’t even find time to scratch his head. That’s because he’s a good tradesman. Car mechanics are in demand. Not the grease monkeys of yesteryear, but the computer literate experts who can navigate the modern engines. Too much emphasis was placed on book learning with no practical skills.