Something's gotta give

I read an article in the newspaper last week and it's been on my mind ever since. It was about the oil boom in North Dakota and the influx of men to work it. Housing and women are suddenly hot commodities - both of which are in short supply. This gender disparity has meant that there's a lot of competition and desperation for both.

The situation reminds me of the wild west, when men chased gold and glory and available women were relatively scarce. Testosterone surged, fists flew, and pistols made the streets dangerous. There was something in the advice to lock up your wives and daughters. It was for their own protection.

From what I understand, women, whether married or single, young or old, pretty or homely, can expect to be approached anywhere and everywhere, even just visiting the market. The bars are risky because guys are practically crawling over each other when women are around and many sexually frustrated men are itching for a fight - their disappointed passions needing some kind of outlet. One man quietly admitted that only dominant alphas are successful. If you aren't willing to knock some heads together to gain even a minute of conversation with a woman, you're pretty much resigned to being alone.

I can't imagine, but I've tried. There's a story here and I want to tease it out. I think it would be great to have a pretty, desirable woman stroll quietly through all these men as they suck in their guts, stare her down, and throw sexual challenges at her feet. She would ignore all the offers, all the sales pitches and promises, and choose a stool at the bar next to a quiet man, a decent man. One who isn't into playing games and seemingly didn't stand a chance in this crazy situation.

Mulling over the reaction of something so bold is a lot of fun. What would she say to him? How would she diffuse the anger coming from the disappointed studs, staring her choice down, so they don't clean the floor with him? After all, she just put him in a very enviable but precarious position. He wasn't looking for that. Outnumbered, but extremely valuable, she's suddenly in the power position. How she plays it is critical.

Where do my ideas come from? In this case, North Dakota. I didn't see that coming. I'm as thrown and surprised as my beta hero at that bar.










photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roberrific/5784203393/">Roberrific</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>