MY BABY'S GOT SKILLS
By Valerie Shaw, M.PR

For many savvy professional women in the new millennium, any man who can tune up a car, tile a floor or perform any task electrical is worth his weight in beauty supply products. I know an increasing number of ladies who have met their soul mate
at a large electronic or home improvement store, a salvage yard or all things automotive. And most, I am happy to report, are still feeling dandy about hooking up with a handy man.

"My baby's got more skills than Craftsman," said one of my fortysomethingfriends who had dumped a doctor to take up with a building contractor. "Now,"she said, "he even offered to teach my teenage son how to do some minor home repairs."

I have another sisterfriend who admitted that she was stuck in a rutcompeting with every other college-educated sister she knew for the dwindlingsupply of guys with long titles or capital letters behind their names. After years of dead-ending on the high road, I finally convinced her to buy afive-dollar ticket to the local Auto Show. There she met one handsome hombrewho, she says, really fired up her engine. And back at the pit stop are acouple of other blue-collar boys just waiting for their turn at the wheel.

Now, I'll admit from the onset that there can be complications in dealingwith an uncomplicated man. For one thing, his tastes might be simple. [He'sa meat and potatoes ESPN kind of dude who doesn't give a fat frat for playsand ballets.] For another, it can be difficult for a high-powered sisterto accept a man who dresses for success in Red Wing boots and Levi jeans seven days a week.

Friends, too, present certain challenges. [Girlfriend, you don't have totake that s--- off no man! You make too much money for that!] But the main obstacle I've discovered in trying to pair up designer gals with blue-collar brothers, is money. Some women tell me they have to have a manwho is on their financial level. Others complain that their six-figure salaryintimidates a guy who only makes five figures. Even otherwise happy two-collar couples who have reconciled most of their other differences, admit that they fight for power over the purse strings when it comes to big ticket items like a house, car or vacation.

Call me crazy, but is there ever a contest between good money or a good man? Come on, admit it: a partner beats a portfolio anytime. If you're so smart, you shouldn't have to whup the boy with your bankbook to get his attention.

I've got another gripe with guys whose only interest in a woman is how much interest she draws on her bank accounts. Women who make their own way hardly get any play; but I'll save that for a future editorial. What I really want to point out here is that far too many of us ladies discard a brother based on his employment, even though he may be an enjoyable diversion from our stress-filled life.

One of my favorite aunts cleaned up an ambitious grungy guy and put himthrough school. And I know several ladies who have confided in me that theybankrolled their baby's business. [Well, behind every great man there is atleast one great gal who is due some props.]

If money were taken out of the romance equation I've got to wonderhow many more happy relationships there would be between brothers and sisters. But, if that is some kind of Nirvana neverland, how about thisproposition: From now on every time a blue collar brother performs a practical task, how about if we pay him in some practical cash? [My guess is that in no time those five and six figure incomes will be in reverse.] "You've got to pay for any kind of expertise," said one very practical sister who, having lost one Teamster to a temptress with an eye to the future, went against her whole professional family to marry a man with only a high school diploma. Never mind that the brother was a talented draftsman, woodworker and could fix any appliance in the house. The whole family was against the union.

"I can't snuggle up to sheepskin," she said over a Starbucks latté, dismissing her driving mother and over-credentialed siblings with a snap. "It took me forever to realize what really makes me happy; but I know what works for me atthis stage in my life. I've been everywhere I wanted to go and I've met all the people I want to know," she continued, answering my inquisitive stare. "To tell the truth," she said first hauntingly, then confidently, "I've climbed the corporateladder to the top of my field but no accomplishment can compete with this marriage."

"Why's that?" I asked, a bit incredulous.

"It's really simple," she smiled, taking a last gulp of steaming coffee and glancing at her watch impatiently, "My baby's got skills."


© Valerie Shaw 1998 - All Rights Reserved
All contents are the exclusive rights of the author and may not be copied, excerpted, nor duplicated without the expressed written permission of the author. For questions regarding duplication of this work, send email to author.

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