When You See A Priceless French Painting, I See A Drunk Naked Girl

I don't enjoy controversy. Nix that. I don't enjoy being an active participant in controversy. But I feel obligated to speak up now, on behalf of my husband and other men like him, with regards to Minxy Mimi's post from this past weekend.

To sum it up, in case you don't feel like clinking the link and visiting her blog, she posted the lyrics to Brad Paisley's "I'm Still A Guy." Please view the video now, I'll wait over here ----------------------------------------> *me*



Now Minxy Mimi claims she wants no part of this guy, stating that if this is what a real man is, she'd rather spend the rest of her life being celibate. Hey, it's her choice, whatever. I like the benefits that come with having a partner in life, both tawdry and mundane, so no celibacy for me, thanks.

Brad's song couldn't describe my husband more perfectly. He likes to hunt and fish, wishes he could carry a gun in his truck, hates getting his hair cut and gives me a *look* when I suggest lotion for his dry, cracked hands in the middle of winter. He has a dirty mind - as most men do - and rarely lets the opportunity to drop a sexual innuendo pass him by. When it comes to his family, he's ready to box anybody who says one negative thing in our direction. His instinct to protect his own is his center. To provide, to protect and to ensure our well-being is his first priority.

I simply must address the hunting issue. Mimi seems to have a very one-sided view of hunters and hunting for "sport." For millions of years, hunting has been a way of life around the world. To this day, it's a rite of passage for young men in South American and African tribes. It's a brotherhood, a very large community of people in the U.S. and Canada, that not only feel a thrill while hunting but also gain a huge respect for nature. Just ask Uncle Ted [Nugent]: "...We hunt, we fish, we trap, we feed ourselves with the sacred protein from Mother Nature's renewable sustain-yield pantry..."

Also, and I wasn't aware of this until about a year ago, when people go on safari in Africa and kill kudu, cape buffalo, et al., the animal they kill is butchered on site and is fed to the local villages. The hunting FEEDS hungry people. Hunters are nature's steward, keeping populations down and reproduction up for species that would otherwise overpopulate and start moving into our residential neighborhoods. Yeah, it'd be cute for a doe to pass through now and then but I doubt you want a Grizzly joining your Fourth of July barbecue.

Mimi also says she understands the "feed off the land" concept, but I really don't think she does. People in the less-populated regions of our country feed their families with the meat they provide from a successful hunting trip. If you land a 100-lb. deer, you'll get approximately 43 lbs. of meat! The cost of a hunting license and the gas to drive to the woods is well worth what would cost you about $125.00 at the grocery store.

I agree with her that "real men" come in all shapes and sizes from all walks of life. But please don't try to portray my husbands "league" as a lesser group because they do hunt, they do fish, and they abhor preening. My husband has an amazing - by my standards - amount of respect for me, treats me as his equal, is a loving and doting dad, and has never stayed out all night with his friends, let alone never called. I couldn't ask for a better man and I'm happy as hell that he does all that "man stuff." Personally, I find it sexy.

But then, that's just me. It's not for everybody and that's just fine! If it weren't for the white collars of society, my husband would be out of work! Heh. I simply get pissed off aggravated when people want to write off [the legions of] men like my husband as "barbaric" because they hunt. It's not barbaric, it's doing exactly what "the other real men" do when they get paid: it's providing for their family the way countless generations have since the dawn of time.