A cautionary tale for every middle-aged man: part 4

So where was I? At age 41 I am: (1) feeling shortchanged and unfulfilled by not having a "trophy wife" others seemingly expect me to have, "others" being people who don't even know me; (2) feeling great that I had a stunningly beautiful nurse call and ask me out; and (3) the comments of my office friend/confidant, who thought I could do much better.

I fell for all of it, and from that point I was consumed with taking action, making a change in my life, to get what I deserved for once. I must be cheating myself by staying with this one undesirable woman when I could have, or at least date, a number highly attractive women that I saw everyday through my work.

This frustration only simmers for the next year. By then I had a new job within UPS, driving to Dallas, Texas every afternoon and getting back at about 2a. The drive allowed me to listen to the radio back and forth which was my biggest entertainment. I found the perfect station for my voyeuristic, self-consumed mind set, both hosted talk radio DJs. One was a Howard Stern knockoff out of Dallas and the second was the famous Tom Leykis out of Los Angeles. He was nationally syndicated and sometimes hosted his program from the Playboy Mansion. Leykis talks about "the issues you really care about." Leykis 101 — Tom’s male version of "The Rules" — offers his inimitable and original perspective on dating, relationships, and politics from a man's perspective. Tom Leykis provides his audience with an inside look at his own personal life and often provokes listeners with his opinions. In other words, he's a guy who makes you reconsider what you thought you believed about yourself, and about women.

Leykis spent many shows talking about how men should treat women and what men should expect from that treatment. His rules or tenets are listed in the next post.