Three Well-Behaved Ladies

Yesterday, after more than 25 years of marriage, my wife left me. That was not the first time that this occurred. The same thing happened last year. Each time, I accompanied her to the airport to say goodbye.

Actually, this is not as bad as it sounds; we have absolutely no plans to divorce, and we'll be apart for only one week while she enjoys what is becoming a regular event in our lives: her annual reunion and get-together with two of her best friends from high school. One lives in San Francisco, the other comes from outside Philadelphia. This year they are spending a week together in an apartment they rented in Vancouver, British Columbia. Last year it was a 19th century house in New Orleans, Louisiana. In both cases, although all three women are married, husbands were not invited.

Although they look innocuous, this is a very intelligent and high-powered group. You wouldn't necessarily know it if you met them, because they are all very unassuming and down-to-earth. The threesome includes two medical doctors (a psychiatrist and a drug researcher) and an attorney, with degrees from Yale, Columbia, and Washington University of St. Louis. On the lighter side, one of the three has a particular talent in addition to her profession. She has the abilities of the former Capt. James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise-- now familiar to everyone as the Negotiator in the Priceline ads. Not only does she plan and book the entire trip for the trio, including destination and restaurant reservations, but she also gets a bargain price on lodgings. She accomplishes the latter by calling luxury rental offerings listed online and convincing the owner to reduce his usual price because the premises will be occupied by "three very well-behaved middle-aged ladies".

So for a week, the other husbands and I will be on our own while the ladies dine out, relax and take in the sights of Vancouver. I can't help thinking how different this picture might be if these three well-behaved ladies were not Americans who grew up together in Brooklyn, New York in the latter half of the 20th century, but rather in some places overseas. In certain countries even today, they could never expect to become professionals or, if they tried to travel abroad without their husbands, they might soon be arrested and imprisoned. What a waste of talent and energy for these other societies. It is hard to imagine that even in America not so long ago, these women weren't considered qualified to vote.