Chupacabra Canoe

Don’t Trust Men

Shooting Nerf guns with my 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old boy the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, I had my daughter caught, dead to rights, without the ability to re-load. It’s the advantage of being around for a while, I knew in the heat of the battle their aim would be terrible. Trapped, my daughter accepted her fate with a look of disappointment and fear. I told
her not to worry, I wouldn’t shoot. Implying with my eyes, I nodded it was safe to go ahead and gather ammo and we’d tag team against her brother. She slowly let her guard down and as the smile of relief slowly crept back on her face, cooly and calmly I pulled the trigger. Kill shot, followed by my now famous words of wisdom and that’s why you don’t trust men.

That moment inspired me. I thought to myself, maybe I’m at the age where I might have a little bit of wisdom that the younger generations could use to their benefit, Life Lessons, if you will. How many other life lessons could I hand down to them? Could I craft their world view with wisdom gained from hiking trails through the peaks and valleys of my own life’s journey? I’m not sure, but I’m going to try. Over this 2025 Lenten season, I’m going to bring forth some of these Life Lessons.

And that brings me to Day 1: Don’t Trust Men. I thought about the wording of this for some time. Could it be never trust men? Out of 100 instances, I’d take the odds that this adage would serve one well way more than 51% of the time. But, at its’ heart, is it really true? Never? Never is a long time, it is an absolute and then what about this little nugget never say never? Don’t Trust Men means, generally speaking, this is a good guide rail to keep us on the straight and narrow tracks of life. However, it also allows freedom for us to discern when it is ok to trust someone with the X Y chromosomes. Let’s face it, we are pretty much untamed primates until we have 30 years under our belt. That’s when Jesus began his famous journey, coincidence?

Join me on this journey, share your thoughts. Am I way off base, do I need to be humbled and have an elder hand me life lessons? Has this inspired you to think of your own Life Lessons? If so, share them. If I deem them worthy, I’ll share them, giving credit where credit is due, trust me.