A couple of commentaries/articles about matrimony - the lack of, the state of, the dissolution of - caught my eye recently in that they are so alarmingly irrelevant.   They bear little, if any resemblance to the attitudes and experiences of the women I know, and I happen to have a very large contingency of female friends and acquaintances of various ages, marital statuses, and socio-economic backgrounds.  As a matter of fact, the only attribute they all share is their rampant alcoholism, which I'm sure you'll agree is a necessity for any long-term relationship -- whether that be with a man, a woman, your teenage children, your boss, or even an expensive leather living room set you must live with for a decade, even after it's started to crack, fade, and generally look like hell.  (It occurs to me that herein lies a great barter opportunity: "Sarah, meet Yvonne.  She has a 3-piece sectional that she's willing to trade for your able-bodied husband, as long as he has some minimal house-painting skill."  Of course, labor laws being what they are, Yvonne would probably need throw in the end tables to get the husband for life.)

The first, by a slightly-conceited psychology professor ("People tell me I'm hot, so I guess it must be true!") is a whiny piece about how often people comment on the fact that she's good-looking, 40, and not married.  As if that's some sort of tragedy!  I would argue the opposite, myself:  Those not aesthetically gifted should take themselves off the market by marrying so that they don't bother the beautiful people who are trying to mate but can't get to each other because they are forced to wade through all you knuckle-draggers at the bar who want to buy them drinks.  It's worth noting that the author has settled on "It just hasn't happened yet" as not only her response to such nosey inquiries, but the title of her upcoming book, which will no doubt be about the success of the Obama Administration.

The second article, one of many on this bit of non-science that's just come out of Obvious State University, reports on the increased likelihood of infidelity in men who earn less than their wives.  They cite societal expectations and psychological factors as possible reasons, then attach the required picture of poor Sandra Bullock and her brain-dead ex-husband (seriously...what was she thinking?) when in fact, the reason why underemployed men cheat more is the same reason they play too much Mafia Wars on Facebook:  they're bored but don't want to do anything that requires them to get dressed.

Both of these articles deal with issues that are of little relevance to the lovely, hard-working women I know who would really just like less ice in their happy hour cocktails and more laughs from the men who do come into their lives.  If they're single, they're ok with it; if they're married, well, the drinks are strong and cheap.