I don't think I have laughed this hard in a long time... I cannot even take the discussion seriously.. :o) I should though, because it brings to mind images of women on the street panhandling and prostituting in order to support their children when their husbands abandon them or die in war or are abusive and fail to provide because they are too busy drinking themselves into a stupor. Hundreds of thousands of women around the world are in that position today - the church doesn't take care of them and their families are unable to. No utopia down here! Of course, they did the right thing in the eyes of God by obeying their husband and not getting an education and not working outside the home. I guess prostitution and panhandling is their reward...

Yup, you hit the nail on the head. That's why I warned Howard that he might be doing his daughters a disservice by not teaching them to be the same kind of "provider" that he's teaching his son to be.

Sadly, I know of a situation where a man abandoned his wife and kids. She got involved in drugs and crime, and is now in prison.

My father was a real hard-ass on me, and did some things to me that I didn't like at the time. Fortunately, by the time I realized that it was for my own good, I was able to thank him.

Kevin