"The Roving Eye"

Hi Everyone,

Anwar and I have an American friend whose wife died suddenly, leaving two young children behind ages 8 and 10. The guy was devastated. My husband and I used to wonder if he was ever going to recover from this tragedy, but then his recovery turned out to be more instant than instant coffee as one fine morning I saw him with his new bride, looking happier than ever. I literally did a double take.

The question that came to my mind was: how come husbands "recover" so quickly from wives, "dead" or "alive"? I think that the second they say "I DO" they are already in recovery, and the minute she goes or overstays her welcome (overstay in some cases can easily start right away) in the holy matrimony, they take a plunge somewhere else in the pursuit of happiness and often times, like Tiger Woods ended up, "looking for love " in all the wrong places.

Tiger Woods, who is well liked and admired, is someone that I, for some reason, never cared for. I don't trust a guy who hardly blinks his eyes......he scares the daylights out of me. Having a gorgeous and classy looking wife as well as two beautiful children obviously was not "sweet" enough for him as he popped quite a few bimbos like Tic Tacs.

Then comes John Edwards, who tries too hard to look like a decent "all American" guy. However, his icy, glassy blue eyes are a dead giveaway that he can't fool us and especially not his wife for long. I don't mean to make light of such a sad situation but I think his terminally ill wife is staying alive just to eat him piece-by-piece.......YOU GO GIRL.

Prince Charles, in my opinion, is a classic example of a husband who moved on faster than expected. Although he was divorced at the time, I still think he traded in his beautiful, classic trophy wife Lady Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles, which is like trading in a 7 Series black BMW (my all time favorite) for a mousy gray Chrysler minivan. We all know that every guy wants to marry his mother, but he went a little too far.

The "Hollywood handsome" Bill Clinton, who in my humble opinion was too good looking for a president, jeopardized his "stay" in the White House just because his "roving eye" spotted a young, plump, goofy looking intern while he had a wife with a brain and intellect that any man would fall in love with. Any man but her husband that is, which makes sense since being a smart woman is a big negative for a successful marriage.

Last but not least is the president of my beloved country Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. My last memory of him before he crowned himself to the throne of Pakistan People's Party was when he was walking behind Benazir Bhutto as she was entering The National Assembly as a Prime Minister. He was wearing an ordinary shalwar kameez and a traditional Sindhi topi, looking like her hired help with a personality of -5 on a scale of 1-10. After her untimely demise, you see him now wearing well tailored Italian suits, with a hairdo that up until now only Clark Gable could pull off, and a non stop smirk that annoys the hell out of everybody. He is literally laughing all the way to the Swiss banks.

I have been married long enough but still fail to understand what it is in a husband's psyche that makes him take these plunges so fearlessly. The justification often provided is that they were not getting enough "love" at home. If they can't make their wives love them who else do they have a chance with?

All the men mentioned above are very different from each other and are from different walks of life. The only thing they might have in common, besides the lack of common sense, is an overrated male ego, then again inflated by lack of common sense. I was told by one of my friends, who lives in Pakistan, that back home having a Pajero Jeep and a girlfriend on the side (in that order) is a status symbol for rich, middle aged guys. I believe, regarding this very serious issue, that husbands behave like little, impressionable boys who have to have what the other boy has.

It seems that a husband's infidelity has become an epidemic. You can definitely categorize it as an infectious virus, and since science has developed Lasik surgery for the corrective vision, let's hope they can come up with a cure for the disease which could be more contagious than "pink eye", in this case, the "roving eye".

Much love,

Shehla