Katy McKenna Raymond  
Personal blog of christian writer Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri


Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary

Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net

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Here's some insight into my fallible novel characters, Erin's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy. Hope you enjoy reading this excerpt as much as I did living it...ooops, writing it. BTW, I'm over 24,000 words now--almost half-way there! Woo, hoo! My mother has very little college education. In fact, when she finishes this semester in a couple more weeks, she will have accumulated twenty-four credit hours. She's only been out of high school for coming up on thirty years, though, so I think she's making progress. I must say in her defense that although she has taken few classes, she has made the maximum use of them. Only a rare woman would have gotten more mileage than my mom did out of this semester's Intro to Sociology class, and that's before the "A" even hits her GPA. "Let me tell you what Dr. May shared in class today," Mom began one night last week, and of course, my dad had no choice but to let her. "We were discussing the inequalities that exist between the husband and wife regarding the division of duties in the home," she went on, with little apparent regard for whatever divisions should exist between two parties to a conversation. "Oh?" my father interjected, still without having looked up from the computer screen. "And Dr. May said that in a typical American family, the husband and wife are each working forty hours per week outside the home, but that the woman is working an additional forty hours per week doing housework and caring for children…" "And the man?" he glanced up. "A measly eleven hours, and I'm pretty sure this includes how much time he spends talking to his wife." "Mmmm." "And she went on to say that sociologists have studied this phenomenon extensively, and have identified four 'techniques of resistance' used by men to consciously avoid contributing to the maintenance of the children and the home…" "I bet." "Do you want to know what they are? Sure, you do. The first is 'playing dumb'-the man pretends he doesn't know how to operate the washing machine or how to separate the darks from the whites, and keeps up the act until the wife gives up, and does it herself." "You're kidding?" "No. The second technique is called 'waiting it out.' The man sees what needs to be done, and knows it must be done, but figures if he waits long enough, she'll do it. Rather than beg him to do the obvious, she does it herself." "Seems so unfair." "I know. Wait until you hear number three-'needs reduction.' This is where the man has an important business meeting, and he asks his wife to iron his dress shirt, which is horribly wrinkled, but she doesn't have time. She apologizes nicely while she's packing five lunches, and scooting three kids into the van to head for school, and then she notices him putting on the wrinkled shirt and muttering something about how his pants and jacket and tie will cover the really bad parts-and then guess what she does?" "She doesn't?" "Yep. The last technique has to be the most insidious of all, in my mind. It's called 'substitute offerings,' and I find it morally reprehensible, if not completely nauseating. Believe it or not, Dr. May says this is the technique women find most acceptable…" "Well-?" "This is where the husband completely avoids helping his poor, overworked, exhausted and dedicated wife, and then bowls her over with some lame compliment, like, 'Oh, honey, you're so good with the kids. It's no wonder they love you best,' or, even worse, 'Nobody nukes leftovers like you, baby.' And then, if the syrupy compliments aren't enough to win her over, he plays Mr. Wonderful and offers to run over to Taco Bell for a ten-pack, to give her a little relief from her culinary responsibilities. What a guy." "The loser." Like I said, my mother doesn't have much formal education, but her rhetorical abilities alone achieve results most women with doctorates never hope for. Inside of a few short days, my father had strung the Christmas lights, cleaned the basement, scrubbed the shower, replaced the burned out lightbulbs, and changed the oil in two cars and a truck. Wow. She's good.
Posted by Katy on 11/17/01 at 03:10 PM
Fallible Comments...
  1. hello :)
    Posted by rachel  on  12/31/69  at  12:00 PM
  2. hmmm...i'm going to have chad start reading your blog again...;) (btw, pilgrimhouse has been broken into by bored hackers, the pieces are literally scattered throughout cyberspace...my dustpan is not big enough, but we will rebuild! sometime, that is...)
    Posted by lisa  on  12/31/69  at  12:00 PM
  3. Steve--I was so shocked to find this has actually been studied in such specicifity by sociologists. I could have told them! Just kidding, my husband is the support of my life. Thanks!
    Posted by Katy  on  12/31/69  at  12:00 PM
  4. All I have to say is that that's amazing. And true, which is really rather sad.
    -----
    Posted by Steve  on  12/31/69  at  12:00 PM
    5. Page 1 of 1 pages
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