The Rural Voice, 1983-08, Page 51GISELE IRELAND
Woman
versus Man
It has been brought to my attention, by
men naturally, that I seem to pick on their
little foibles and gloss over the actions of
the preferred sex. I am only following in
the tradition of our Maker, after having
given us man, gave us a newly improved
version of humanity, a woman. The root of
all women's problems, if investigated
thoroughly, are usually men.
This is especially true of the incidents I
am going to relate, all of which took place
in the same shopping plaza. I feel that if
the men had reacted differently in each
case, the women would have come out
like winners.
The first experience was in the parking
lot. I parked the car and was in a rush to
get some items from the store. A man got
out of the car next to me and informed me
in a haughty tone .hat the lines were
painted on the lot for a purpose. They
were there to park cars between them. I
had, of course, parked on top of them. I
gave him a look that would fry bacon on
an ice covered sidewalk but he still per-
sisted, giving me a "dumb broad" lecture.
He graduated into an arm waving scene
and was attracting quite an audience with
his rhetoric on the shortcomings of
women. He had enough people surround-
ing him by this time that I could see he
didn't need me, so I left. While finishing
my shopping, I thought of a few choice ex-
pressions that I might have delivered had I
remained to exchange them with him. I
was careful though, to check that he was
gone before I left the store and went back
to the car.
The second incident involved a mother
of two toddlers who was loaded down
with parcels. She managed to stow
everything in the car and pulled away. A
man followed her out quite closely, honk-
ing his horn and waving his arms. She ig-
nored him and accelerated the speed. He
followed her for quite a distance, blaring
the horn and point his finger up. She
assumed that he was being rude and
stuck out her tongue at him and returned
the finger gesture. At the first red light he
got out of the car and informed her in an
exasperated tone that he, purse was on
the roof of the car. How do you say thanks
to a man you've just treated to a length of
your tongue and a universal gesture of
disdain?
The third skirmish took place in the
store. My friend was shopping and the
lunch line at the cafeteria was endless.
She decided to have a chocolate bar in-
stead, and after buying it, put it with her
coat and belongings on a small table for
two. She then decided to get herself a cof-
fee to go with it. When she came back to
her table, a man was seated unwrapping
the chocolate bar. She glared at him, and
reached across to get a hunk of the
chocolate. He did the same. This silent
hostile battle continued until the last
morsel was devoured and the man casual-
ly got up and sauntered away. My friend,
of course, was incensed that he did not
have the courtesy to thank her for his
lunch or to say anything at all. She fumed
all through the rest of her shopping. By
the time she was leaving the store she had
worked herselt into a real fury. She saw
her lunch partner in the bake shop next
door holding a box. The lady behind the
counter was filling it with tarts. She storm-
ed into the store, grabbed one of the tarts
out of the box and took a huge bite out of
it. All the while her eyes were daring the
man to object. He was too stunned to say
anything, so she threw the rest of the tart
back in the box and wheeled out of the
store. When she got to the car she took
the keys out of her purse, and there, nestl-
ed right on top, was her chocolate bar."
Gisele Ireland is a pork producer from
Bruce county and has a regular column in
The Rural Voice.
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Centralia College of
Agricultural Technology
Presents
DIRECTIONS '83
•
•
Legacy of the Past: Challenge of the Future
A conference for Women Living in Rural Areas
Fri., August 26, 6:30 p.m. To Sat., August 27, 5:00 p.m.
CONFERENCE FEE:
$21.00 includes reception
refreshments, lunch August 27.
Accommodation and Breakfast
are extra (about $12.00)
For more information and
registration contact:
Centralia College of
Agricultural Technology
Huron Park, Ont. NOM 1Y0
(519) 228-6691
WORKSHOPS
Identifying Leisure Needs
Eating Well - Being Well
Women & The Law
Planning & Time Management Skills
Developing Leadership Ability
Community Development
Financial Management for Women
Relieving Stress
Please Register me for Directions '83:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
En:Iosed $21.00 Payable to: Directions '83, Overnight Accommodation: needed - Friday -
YES/No, Single/Double.
THE RURAL VOICE, AUGUST 1983 PG. 49