Matt Ruigu

Just so that we are clear, I have an abundance of love for the girls. The way I see it, they make life exciting and worth the trouble. I may have mentioned in the past that if not for girls, the great Cape to Cairo trek would never have been done. I have no idea why Edmund Hillary decided to scale Mount Everest, but I have a feeling that it may have in no small part to do with his future wife Louise.

It is said that Edmund was such a shy gentleman that his future mother in law is the one who ‘proposed’ on his behalf. Still, which lady in her right mind would say no to a proposal from a man of such extra ordinary feats – even under the unorthodox circumstances of such a proposal? Show me one and I’ll show you a liar.

Guys, what then, I ask, do we live for if not to outdo each other in a quest to get the girl of your dreams, at the expense of the next man – who might also consider her ‘of his dreams’ but does not have what it takes? It may not necessarily be a trailer load of gold. I’m told girls are not that fickle, though being a man of means helps (they say there is no man driving a Ferrari that is single).

So when we come down to it, many of the world’s greatest feats attributed to men over the time humanity, as we know it, has been in existence, should be attributed to the woman – she is the silent mover of all. The philosopher, Nietzche, believed that while a woman may lack the physical strength to force a man to do her bidding, she does have other beguiling methods that make him a virtual slave to her, remember Samson and Delilah?

So what would the world be like if we still had that extra rib and no companion? Chances are we would have expired a while back because of a lack of initiative and (even with that we’d still lack the) incentive to make necessary survival changes either fast enough or well enough to keep us alive.

If the male is as inherently selfish as it is thought by some (women) then for sure alcohol and sports would still exist. But that would be it. Those would probably be the only exertions we would engage in; brewing, distilling and so on for alcohol and playing sport. While sportsmen have been known to attract legions of beautiful women as fans, and for other intimate pursuits as well, it is also a fact that sports is an affair men engage in because they love it, not merely to see winners and losers, but because it gives them something to relive and talk about as they drink.

The last two paragraphs point to the fact that life would be quite boring if the rib had not been taken from man to form woman. I believe our Creator had a good reason for this. I just wonder sometimes if there is nothing more He would have done to let us exist more amicably and, yes, equally.

According to Nietzche, an argument I had hoped to avoid, is about the basic roles of man and woman. Man is to make the life of his family bearable through provision of food and shelter while the woman’s is to bear that family. Does this in anyway make one a lesser being? Weaker, maybe, but even that is debatable, for if she can use my strength for her benefit, then it follows she need not have the strength herself.

Perhaps if I still had that extra rib I wouldn’t exist anymore because there would be nothing to live for. That rib, I must say was put to good use by the Creator. I’ve heard fellows lament. Truth be told, I’ve also lamented once or twice before, but it is for the better that she was created.

It is because of her that we are able to observe feats such as the Taj Mahal, and who does not want to see such delectable sights? And as tiring as it can be, the chance to outdo ourselves each day as we strive to provide for the family – present or prospective – is also something to live for.

However, in exchange for that rib, I would have wanted a rule book, if not rule books, for that new creature. Let me hear guys say ‘aye’.