The Art of Gender Bendering

“Frogs and tails and puppy dog tails
That’s what little boys are made of”
Match box cars
Hot wheels
Playing in the forts
Constructed from dirt
Deep holes with thatch
Covering our hideout
I was the coveted lone girl
In these boys' lives
The sign on the front
“No Girls Allowed”
Did not apply to me
I was in heaven
I was one of the boys
I grew up that way
Learning to tinker with tools
My father had a son
But he wasn’t interested
In what bonded
Boys to their fathers
I was the next best thing
“You only use the right tool for the right job”
Was rule number one
He taught me all he knew
About every tool in the garage
I learned how to change the oil
Rotate and repair flat tires
My favorites were the power tools
The magic one could perform
In the art of creation
The simplicity of slicing through 4x4s with ease
The sawing and scrolling the intricate designs
My father taught me well
My life as a teenager was the same
More time spent in the garage
Lava was the staple at the sink in the back
Mom never did understand
And my fingernails always had a lining
Of black grease underneath
As I got older, I was never interested in boys
Dating was a useless waste of time
I’d much rather stay at home
Tearing apart a radio
Seeing how it worked
And putting it back together again
With no spare parts left over
Mom finally had her say
I was forced to go to the Jr-Sr Prom
With some stupid son of a friend of hers
I never did dance
Hadn’t a clue as to how
Nor was even vaguely interested
Disgusted by the frills on the dress
No, I sat at the table with all of the guys
Drinking the spiked punch
Or sneaking outside for the occasional illicit cigarette
Just to forget about John or what’s his name
Relieved when the house lights came up
So I could go home and
And strip off this sham of a costume
I was home back in my element
Never to set foot into that world again
As an adult my world changed
Having no adult female role model
To show me any different
I got married because I was expected to
Had the requisite child
A boy I could teach all I knew
My father would have been proud
Nine years later I had my freedom
Only then did I discover the options
Never before unfolded in front of me
Boys at this stage were not interested
In letting me be part of their club
Actually it was their wives that objected
Having my son was my savings grace
I then realized I did not have to bother with boys
I met women who shared the same interests I did
From that moment on, I was still one of the boys
I just did it with a different flair.
©2007