Could someone please help me try to understand this male phenomenon, which for lack of a better term, I have come to call "The Gathering"?
It is when two to 20 boys or men stand around, usually with arms crossed or hands thrust deep into their front pants pockets, their expressions ones of deep concentration or an occasional nod as the designated speaker makes some sort of statement. These Gatherings usually always take place around some object; a truck, a motorcycle, a boat, even a lawn mower, with everyone staring at it intently.
If this Gathering takes place around a pick-up truck, I think the rules are that one foot must be placed on the bumper of the truck and the other firmly on the ground, with folded arms resting on the tailgate. If those spots are all taken, acceptable secondary positioning allows for men to fold their arms on the top sides of the truck bed.
Recently, I saw such a Gathering in the parking lot of a local store. The six men were staring so intently into the bed of the truck, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to see what was in there. I took a detour to my car so I could walk by to take a peek.....none of them even noticed me. As I passed the truck, I was surprised to find there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the back of that truck!
Women don't do this. I don't think we CAN do this. We love to talk to one another, and we love to get together, but it MUST involve some sort of activity. We will go to lunch or dinner, meet for wine or martinis, watch movies or go to a show together, even work jointly on a project. But to just stand around and talk, or the much more difficult task of just standing around LISTENING......I am not sure that is possible!
The only illumination I can shed on why we can't conquer this men's "Gathering" technique is this:
We have so many things we need to do, so many things we have to do, and so many things that won't get done, we can only justify doing the things we WANT to do if we accomplish something else while we are doing it.
