Rent-A-Guy - His time has come....

After extensive research [okay, I have one single guy friend that I talk to, but I think he's a good representative sample,] I have determined that young women are not in a marrying mood these days. They will go for a casual date, they will even call someone a boyfriend, but when it comes to making commitments, they are less interested than they used to be in traveling to the altar.

I could speculate on the reasons for this phenomenon, such as women making more money today, more women getting degrees, and thus having more opportunity for power and prestige on their own in the work-a-day world, or perhaps just the recent creep of the new adult-adolescence in which 20 somethings are now regarded as advanced teenagers who still need to be cared for and protected, instead of young adults who have to make it on their own.

I wonder what Mary Richards [The Mary Tyler Moore show for those who post-date quality television programming] would have thought of all these 20 and 30 somethings who are moving home to live with their parents, since her whole game was getting out of the house and being successful on her own. But I digress.

My point is, single women are more likely to live alone today than ever before. They buy houses and travel and do yard work and maintenance, and spend big dollars while doing so. Whether or not you see this as a sign of progress or an unfortunate development is not material to this discussion. It does, however, leave an obvious opening for a new, and potentially lucrative, business - Rent-A-Guy, your heavy lifting, maintenance friendly, dad-brother-boyfriend for an hour when you need a hand resource.

I think this is a winner. I have seen the occasional independent handyman advertisements, where you can call a guy in to fix plumbing problems, or do some painting or other types of repairs. But you have to call in advance, schedule an appointment, and wait for them to get around to you. What I have in mind is a little different.

With Rent-A-Guy, you make the call, he shows up. Immediately. Without asking a lot of questions, whining about the Big Game he's missing, or expecting you to put a cold drink in his hand and a warm body in his bed. If you ask him to move furniture, he asks where you want it, and then actually puts it there without adding his own two cents, which obviously won't work anyway. If you have to paint a room, he comes with ladder and floor covering in hand, and doesn't argue with you about the color you've chosen. If you want to replace faucets, he has his own tools, which he can get for himself without assistance.

In short, when you need a hand, he is there. And then he goes away.

As a rapidly maturing single woman, I am occasionally reduced to waiting for my son to return home to get something accomplished, because I need his longer reach or his ability to lift heavier objects than I can.

I don't need a guy to be happy. I don't need a guy to provide for me. [Although if someone wants to throw cash my way, I'll accept it, don't get me wrong!] I don't need a guy to be fulfilled, or complete, or to feel that my life is worthwhile. I need a guy to lift heavy objects, remove dead carcasses from my lawn, and to do yard work.

Rent-A-Guy. I think it's a winner.