{"id":358,"date":"2010-12-15T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-15T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/man-vs-mall\/"},"modified":"2010-12-15T08:25:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-15T15:25:00","slug":"man-vs-mall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/man-vs-mall\/","title":{"rendered":"Man vs. Mall"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<span>I\u2019m a red-blooded American man, well equipped to take on most of life\u2019s challenges. I can live off the land if necessary, negotiate at the business table and lead the team to victory.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<br><span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div><span>But\u00a0put me in a mall, and I am reduced to just another dopey guy, caught in the glare of a million lights, every one of them reminding me that <em>time is running out<\/em>. I long for any other season except this one, full of \u201cone-day sales,\u201d \u201cearly-bird specials\u201d and \u201csavings events.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Like a hunter, I scan the shopping arena, hoping for the quick score so I can go home. After an excruciating ten minutes or so, desperation sets in. At this point, I become despondent, yet wary and suspicious.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span><\/span><br><span>Over the years I\u2019ve learned that anything with a size on it is a trap \u2014 buy a sweater too large, and it\u2019s an insult; too small, and it\u2019s a humiliation. While she might be handy in the kitchen, purchasing a cookbook might send a wrong signal. And I\u2019ve learned to avoid anything with \u201cfitness\u201d in the title.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><br><span>Jewelry stores are especially confusing, as I am easily dazzled by the sparkle of cubic zirconium and 15 percent off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><br><span>Most of the time, we men get in trouble because we buy something that we think she needs. Our inclination is to be practical instead of sentimental, and what\u2019s more practical than a tool or gadget? Or cash can always come in handy, right? How about new car mats?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><br>\ufeff <\/p>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_n3tvlzeK1OE\/TQjLlo4T8UI\/AAAAAAAABNM\/7vtC9JZQcps\/s1600\/mall1.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_n3tvlzeK1OE\/TQjLlo4T8UI\/AAAAAAAABNM\/7vtC9JZQcps\/s200\/mall1.jpg\" width=\"200\"><\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<em><span>Even shopping is hectic\u201d photo <\/span><\/em><br><em><span>by <\/span><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msimons\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em><span>Mark Simons.<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span> <\/span><\/em><br><em><span>Used with permission<\/span><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\ufeff <\/p>\n<div>\n<span>Read more of \u201c<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehighcalling.org\/family\/man-vs-mall\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Man Vs Mall<\/a><\/strong>\u201d over at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehighcalling.org\/family\/man-vs-mall\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span>The High Calling<\/span><\/a><span>. <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<em><span>What should men buy for their women? Any suggestions or comments? <\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=956512876042479602&amp;postID=6439297328684732761&amp;isPopup=true\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em><span>Click here<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span> to comment.<\/span><\/em>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.<br>\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffI\u2019m a red-blooded American man, well equipped to take on most of life\u2019s challenges. I can live off the land if necessary, negotiate at the business table and lead the team to victory. But\u00a0put me in a mall, and I am reduced to just another dopey guy, caught in the glare of a million lights, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Man vs. Mall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffI\u2019m a red-blooded American man, well equipped to take on most of life\u2019s challenges. 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