Before I get into the basic idea for this 3-day series about Retirement Community Life, I need to give you a little basic background. “Just the facts” as Joe Friday used to say on the TV show Dragnet.

Most RetComs (retirement communities) are usually about 75% women and 25% men, and the majority of the staff of the community are primarily women. So, we men just don’t seem to have much pull when it comes to how things are done. Most activities are geared toward feminine type things.

I don’t think there is anyone alive who doesn’t understand that men and women think distinctly differently. The famous book of my era entitled “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” brought that fact to the surface. Another fact that is obvious is that sometimes men just want to be in the company of other men, someone who “understands” them. They want to have some place where they can talk about stuff that just doesn’t interest most women.

I can still remember when I volunteered my woodworking shop for making furniture for our new startup church. There was just something special happening when we men spent time by ourselves making sawdust. We didn’t have to talk much, just being together was what it was all about.

Another phrase on this topic is:

Guys just like to say something once in a while and not be told he is wrong. 🙃 OK, enough of this foolishness, let’s get on to the topic at hand.

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I think that my RetCom is way overdue for activities focused on men. As I have mentioned before we do have a bi-weekly “Men’s Coffee and Conversations” group, maybe that can spur other activities primarily focused on what men like to do.

I don’t want to call this new activity a “men’s club as I am very aware of the negative publicity that “exclusive” clubs have in gender, class, race, and other issues, but surely, there can be a way that men can formally get together to do things and discuss issues that are primarily of interest to men? I will be thinking about this in the coming weeks. The next two posts will begin to flesh out this idea.

Any suggestions or thought about this would be highly welcomed. I need all the help I can get in accomplishing this goal…