10 Line Play

Scenario: A man in his mid-20's is strolling through the park. He pauses, looks towards the ground and fumbles a little in his jacket pocket. He pulls out a phone and presses it to his ear.

man: "Whoa, man, how's it going? Its been a while."
phone: "I know, I know. I've just been trying to catch up with things. "
man: "Well, we all deal with the same shit. Its ok. What do you say we meet up this Saturday?"
phone: "Yeah, that sounds nice. "
man: "There's this new restaurant in the Slope I read about. We should check it out."
phone: "Sure. Also, the Brooklyn Museum has got this new Basquiat exhibit. I love his stuff!"
man: "Well, its settled. Meet me at Grand Army plaza around 2ish. Call me if you're running late."
phone: "No problem. "
man: "Well, it was good to hear from you. later."
phone: "Yeah, and looking forward to saturday. Bye."

The slowly puts the phone back in his pocket and continues on his course.

Had the person on the phone been a woman, the conversation would hardly generate a second thought. Had it been a man though, the two characters would be treading relatively unkown territory, that of the Man Date.

The NY Times just ran an interesting piece titled 'The Man Date.' Here is a little excerpt:

Simply defined a man date is two heterosexual men socializing without the crutch of business or sports. It is two guys meeting for the kind of outing a straight man might reasonably arrange with a woman. Dining together across a table without the aid of a television is a man date; eating at a bar is not. Taking a walk in the park together is a man date; going for a jog is not. Attending the movie "Friday Night Lights" is a man date, but going to see the Jets play is definitely not.

I am not about pedicures and facial scrubs and that kind of stuff, but a little more metro and a little less hetero could do most men some good. At the very least two guys should be able to go to an art gallery, or taste some wines, without having to look over their shoulders fearing some gay feller in the corner is imagining them making out.

So now that I've opened up a little, and shared my feelings, I think I'll go drink a beer and fart. Maybe I'll rub my belly for luck too and eat a leftover taco for breakfast.