In driveways everywhere, front yards, back yards, neighborhoods, bars, clubs, patios, around the world, probably in every language, the principal complaint among buddies, when they get together for a little pisteada, is the same: ¡con las mujeres uno nunca gana! That universal grunt heard round the globe when words just aren’t enough to express our overall frustration with the opposite sex.

The common denominator among all men, in a relationship with a woman, almost our anthem, which we can’t help but chant when we finally come to that rite of passage, the realization that sometimes with our women, ‘we can’t live with them and we can’t live without them.’   Because no matter how common our interests, beliefs and values might be, the truth is ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.’  El Sexo Fuerte, with our general misunderstanding of all things emotional.   El Sexo Débil, with their seeming obsession to explore even the minutest of feelings, to the very core of their existence.

But before the flood of usual suspects – machista, chauvinistic pig – come to mind, or to the lips, consider the female equivalent to this frustration: men are all idiots!

Or as my comadre Juanita pointed out recently, which coincidentally is the reason for this blog post today, us men, a veces nos hacemos pendejos para tragar a puños.  The oldest trick in the book, really.  Playing dumb to avoid responsibility, commitment, conversation, extra chores, or any other tasks we just don’t want to do sometimes…or all of the time, in some cases.  Where no matter how thoroughly or in how many ways our parejas try to get through to us, make us understand, our expression back to them is always blank and blind, completely lost.  And it’s not like it’s any big secret!  Las mujeres a veces nada má s nos tiran al leon.

Often, we return the favor.

The only problem, as my father once pointed out: las mujeres nunca olvidan nada / women never forget anything!