Women...and Men...

Yesterday a friend and I went to hear a very prominent French film director speak and show clips from his old films. He was given a handheld microphone, which he buried on his chest, so neither of us could barely hear a word he said. What a waste. Why have they stopped attaching small microphones to peoples jackets?

That's some progress that doesn't seem to work, unless someone shows the speakers exactly where and how to hold the microphone.

The clips, which included a famous Western and World WAR II flick, were all fantastic; now that I've had a taste, I want to see all of them. David Niven was sure a handsome dude, as his plane was going down in flames, while the woman on the airfield was trying to talk him to safety as she was falling in love with him.

At dinner, we discussed the event, which led to further conversation about how men treat women...a natural progression from the movies we'd seen. She asked me about seasonal relationships, which occur when the man wants to ski all winter and play golf all summer, ignoring how the woman feels about his choices. As my friend talked and I listened, she moved from being consumed with him to how she felt about the terms of their relationship. I could see her excitement at finding clarity about why the relationship wasn't working for her.
She concluded that I was a good friend. I gave her the kind of attention she needed - being present,actively listening and re-framing what she'd been struggling over. She told me that I ought to be speaking to bigger audiences.

I could never have predicted how yesterday's "date" would turn out.