This morning, as I was getting ready to leave for work, Cheryl asked if I was going to shovel the driveway. Now there was only about a 1/2 inch of snow, and I had toyed with the idea of just letting it melt (or blow) away, but I know that Cheryl appreciates it when I clear off the driveway, so I said I’d do it.
When I was about half done, Cheryl stuck her head out the window and said, “Dan, maybe you don’t have to do that after all. It doesn’t look bad.” I shrugged and kept working. When I got back inside I smiled and gave her these words of wisdom:
> When you send your knight out to slay a dragon, the right answer is “My hero!” not “Oops, that was the wrong dragon.”
She laughed pretty hard. I think she knew what I was going to say.
There was a book released in March this year called *You Don’t Need to Slay My Dragons, Just Take Out the Trash*. I haven’t read the book, but the title alone is enough to make me think it’s going to do a huge disservice to anyone who reads it.
As a gender, I believe males have a psychological need to be heroes and rescue their damsels in distress. We gain great satisfaction when we’re appreciated for our heroic efforts (or at least some approximation of heroic efforts). By taking this away, you damsels are not helping to motivate your knight. It’s actually kind of self-focused to think that way, especially as there is an easy win-win solution.
So what should you do when the trash needs to be taken out? Turn it into a dragon and send your knight off to battle. And then be all “My hero!” when he gets back.
__UPDATE:__ There’s a [part 2][2] to this story.
[2]: /2009/01/dragons-part-2
Comments
2 responses to “Dragons: Why Heroes Need Damsels”
Dan–loved your response. I hope everyone reads your thought.
Thanks. I had to read it to Cheryl. She doesn’t get much time on the computer. :-)