Male Bonding

For a long time my wife tried to get me more male friends. She thought that having only one best friend wasn't enough for me. What my wife didn't understand is that men don't need more than one best friend... as a matter of fact, having more than one takes too much effort.

As we all know, men and women are wired differently. Women talk through their issues, men only talk about their issues when they've run out of ways to solve them. Women enjoy each others company through conversation. Men don't like to just sit and talk. Men like to do things together... watch sport, movies, whatever. Sure, they'll talk during these events, but men don't bond through conversation, only through through shared experiences and similar interests.

I've had one best friend for the last 25 years... Tim. Tim and I have been friends since high school. We've lived together for a short time in college. I'm either the godfather or de facto godfather of all three of his children. We've endured a torturous drive to and from California. We share a love of football and movies. We've made movies since high school and he's been in every one of my Local Talent productions. We've shared Tampa Bay Bandit season tickets, attended Devil Ray, Buc and Lightning games. And every Monday night he comes over to watch football.

And that's the way male friendships are grown, through shared experiences and similiar interests.

My wife has tried and failed to bring other male friends into my life. But for the past 25 years, Tim has been there for me and me for him... and that's all we need.