"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." ~ Benjamin Franklin.

"He was a wise man who invented beer." ~ Plato.

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. ~ Dave Barry

Men love to go to a pub to have beer with his friends and to take trips with them. That does not mean they will go out and cheat on us. They deserve to have a good time even when we are not with them. That does not mean they are selfish; it is just that they need to have their space and not feel that they are trapped or that they are a hostage in life.

Trips are especially fun: He might get drunk; he will curse, fart and burp, eat out of a can of tuna and do whatever else he wishes without having us nag and complain at him for letting down his faade. We each have a way of enjoying our time with our friends. This is one of his ways.

The other day I read that this guy wanted to go on a fishing trip with his friends and arranged everything, including putting his professional life on hold and negotiating many small deals with his wife. Now I ask you: why did he have to negotiate anything with his wife? We need to understand that people need to relax and, in the case of men, a trip or a visit to a pub with his buddies is one of the best and uncomplicated ways for him to do so. We should be the first to encourage such trips as they get back home very relaxed and most of the times, more loving.

Now, of course there are horror stories about fishing trips. Frauke, my friends wife truly encouraged him to go a fishing trip and when he came back, he realized that she had left the country with their two daughters.

A story for you:

A 66 year old Romanian man is recovering in the hospital after trying to escape his wife by swinging from tree to tree, like Tarzan. He wanted to join his friends for a drinking spree, but his wife locked him in his bedroom. He climbed through the window and grabbed a tree vine, and managed to swing to another tree before plummeting to earth and breaking his arm, leg, and ankle. It was more difficult than it looked in Tarzan movies, he said. I forgot to take into account that Tarzan was a lot younger. The Week, July 22, 2005, p. 14

A Word of Advice: Ladies: Let them go. They will be so thankful that you will then have leverage for other more important issues, such as choosing the color of the dining room walls.

Gents: Go on a fishing trip or pub (or whatever) with your buddies but spend the same amount of time (or even more) in leisure with your spouse and your family. That shall calm her down, since it is a fair trade.