Haus Mann

By the time you get through a work day it is well nigh impossible to write in the BLOG, the combination of farm work and house tasks remind me of the dilemmas described by feminists decades ago. Haus Mann is a name heard on the media some time ago, perhaps described by Werner Herzog (of a character he was to have filmed, I don't know)? This mythical man was born filling new post feminist shoes, taking on tasks at home and abroad because the woman had shifted to the public sector, and he was left with her other pair of shoes. Am I making this up, did I really hear this, or could it be a comic strip, attributed to German culture?

An older haus mann, such as myself, has still another dilemma. He has to "pick up the pieces" because he is no longer employable, can only fill in as he can, and if he doesn't do the minimum required might find himself in a retirement home (?).
For me the paradoxes are compounded because I have farm chores outside to contribute, and must followup with teenage and other help to make sure things get done. Not only that, but because my partner, Joni, is working and studying off the place so much, I must still act as if I am managing most of it, anticipating problems, fixing and cleaning, a lot of it. And why not?

A couple of decades back I visited my old neighborhood in California, stood in a local gas station watching one of my former class mates working in the office, Alan R. Meanwhile an old, big Detroit station wagon rolled in with two women, half a dozen children and another classmate, Jimmy R. My interest went up and I identified myself and asked about his life. While he pumped the gas he described living with the two sisters, having children with both of them and taking care of the house, car and yard. He saw no reason to imagine things would change much. He was a version of haus mann in a prefeminist time, and I suspect that the aggregation still exists, although perhaps feminized some, and some of the children would have undoubtedly departed by now. Jimmy may have worked his way into a retirement complex by now, and perhaps he has managed to shift his job description to that facility. I wish him all the best, as I try to improvise in my different roles.