A big part of rural life is visiting.
Don’t get me wrong, I like getting together with family and friends – but that is not visiting.
Visiting is something else entirely. It is satisfying an endless round of obligations and usually involves having to attend a birthday party for a one year-old you don’t know.
That is where I tried to draw the line a while back.
“You go enjoy yourself,” I told my wife, “but I have other things to do.”
She ignored me, so I pressed the issue.
“Why do I have to go?” I asked.
“Because,” she explained, “Fred, Lyle, Ronnie and Justin will all be there. It won’t be right if you are not.”
“None of those guys want to be there,” I argued.
“But they will be there,” she said, handing me my coat.
A few hours later, I found myself at a crowded kitchen table in a tiny starter home sulking with four other guys who did not want to be there.
To my left sat Fred, a fellow whose most articulate moment came with a grunt during Christmas diner four years ago. Next to him was Lyle, a cheese salesmen who could only talk about cheese. At the far end of the table, filling a chair with his considerable bulk, loomed Ronnie, a fish’n, hunt’n, handgun toting mountain man. Opposite him (and I do mean opposite him) sat Justin, an unemployed environmental advocate. While both Ronnie and Justin usually have a lot to say, they were repeatedly warned not to say it.
So there we were, destined to remain in silence for the entire afternoon while our wives cooed over a baby.
I couldn’t take it, so I chirped up. “Hey, none of us want to be here, so let’s figure out how to get disinvited from future gatherings like this.”
Fred grunted. Wow! A break-through.
The idea took hold and we mulled it over for a while before Ronnie offered the first idea. “Cigars,” he said, “We could light up cigars and stink up the place. They’d never invite us back.”
“That’s rude,” Justin snapped.
Ronnie leaned forward. I swear he was freeing the strap on his holster.
“Whoa!” I exclaimed, “That’s a great idea but Justin is right. We’d never hear the end of it.”
“We could tell dirty jokes,” Lyle suggested. Everyone glared at him. No one wanted to know how this might involve cheese.
“What ever we do,” Justin insisted, “it can’t have repercussions,” Knowing his wife, we all understood where he was coming from.
We floated one idea after the other, weighing the merits and consequences of each and had quite an animated conversation going before Ronnie cut us off with a slashing motion. He pointed toward the living room – which had become eerily silent. Our wives had stopped their cooing and were straining to hear what we were talking about.
The dual silence boosted the tension between the two rooms.
A few moments later, Ronnie’s wife appeared. She claimed it was to retrieve a casserole but after we informed her the food was long gone, she blushed, apologized and fled back into the living room.
Our plotting resumed.
It was too much for the women to bear. Alice, Justin’s formidable wife, barged into the kitchen and with hands on hips, demanded to know what we were up to.
“Not a thing,” we told her, feigning innocence, “just guy talk.”
In the living room, heads turned, necks craned and only the gurgle of the baby broke a long uncomfortable silence – that went on and on until Lyle’s wife made up a feeble excuse and dragged him out the door. One after the other, we all left under similar circumstances.
There were no repercussions. How could there be? It was just guys talking, but it worked.
The next week brought news of another party but when I ask if I had to go, my wife got a little skittish.
“I don’t think you would like it,” she said, “none of the other guys will be there.”
Almost Iowa 
I suppose you could always tell them you’ve done your “social visit” with those guys at The Pit. Good story, in any case.
BTW, I don’t think I’ve ever read of the other halves making an appearance at The Pit. Is it a male bastion?
Am not that old 🤡 “18-ish” but every time my mum showed up and announced we had to go for some gathering, my dad always tried to get himself out of it but we dragged him a along anyway, I honestly don’t remember how he got off but he sure did, I wish he took me with him, maaahn, I can totally relate!😞😂
I think you have figured out the secret for not going “visiting.” Women know that nothing good happens when the guys sitting around the table start talking among themselves…..
I wonder why this happens? It is a strange thing I’ve noticed with people, though people my age tend to do this splitting up of the sexes less.
If you want to get someone’s attention…
Whisper!
Having just invited the sons and plus ones over for socially distant lunch next weekend, I wonder what plots their plus ones might hatch.
You never know, in-laws are crafty. Mine like to leave without their kids.
Smart men!
I think that is the first time anyone has actually written that. 🙂
Congratulations on your release! I don’t do much visiting if I can avoid it, so I understand.
Covid isolation has its advantages. Frankly, being a rural guy who keeps to himself (sometimes too much), I really have not seen much change.
To be honest, I felt the same. I didn’t mind staying in.
I think you have the secret. Well done.
Pssst, pass it on.
😂
“While both Ronnie and Justin usually have a lot to say, they were repeatedly warned not to say it.” Seriously, one of the best lines in this story!! I loved your character sketches, and how the story ends up happily ever after. 😉
Don’t we all know people like that?
I know too many!
Since I have no desire to go visiting, hubby is off the hook. Now, sometimes he wants to drag me to some get together, and I seriously doubt the cigar ploy would work for me.😕
I could recommend a few cigar brands that would work. 🙂
Kudos on your decoupling!
Such are short-lived joys.
I think you just explained why my husband becomes a plank of wood when we go “visiting.” A couple of years ago, I started leaving him home if I could get away with it. Hmmm. I need a strategy. Lol.
As the years pass by me, I have come to understand the irrefutable wisdom of preserving the status quo.
Found something that works for me – ‘No. I’m not going.’
I’m not sure I dare recommend it for general use, though. There really might be repercussions.
I tried that once. I also tried juggling dynamite. If I had to choose between them, I’d juggle dynamite.
Oh, well. It was a thought.
Well done. Nothing you guys could cook up beats their imagination. Of course, now your all the subject of wine-infused gossip, but how bad can that be?
The only thing more powerful than wine-infused gossip is beer-infused caterwauling.
Hahaha – this is true.
You’re invited! RSVP ASAP.
The only thing that really works is “Gosh, I thought you wanted me to work on the Honey-do’s”. It’s hell either direction.
Believe me — there are a few women listening in, just to pick up tips for similar circumstances.
I know, I have several angry emails from guys on that subject.
Do you think a cigar would work for me? I rarely want to go either….
Like I mentioned downthread, I can recommend several brands of cigars that will do the trick. I have one that can clear a small town.
I’ll keep that in mind.
heh, heh….guy talk. You guys are funny.
Around here, wives get worried when the guys talk about anything other than farming.
😂
🙂
Thank you for the smile this Monday morning and for some very creative ideas. 🙂
Pssst, don’t tell anybody, but I really liked the cigar idea. 🙂 🙂 🙂