A man is already halfway in love with any woman who listens to him. — Brendan Francis

Men like to tell glory stories so that they can relive the good times. They’ll find new people to talk to just so they can repeat the same old favorites. There must be something to storytelling that let’s them live it again.

I think this is also the reason lots of guys never repeat the meat of old war tales. The interesting parts you want to hear. They never tell you how hard their time in prison was, or what they did during their long unemployment, or even talk about serious arguments. But bring up a time they won money in Vegas and you’ll hear every detail.

There’s something about explaining yourself to someone, who doesn’t understand, that is very exhausting. They might need to convince you that it was worse than you could ever imagine. Maybe you still wouldn’t get it. So they skip the questions that require them to relive the past long enough to describe a few scenes. That makes sense to me.

On the other hand, it doesn’t seem very honest. Have they conceded defeat to past experience? There is also glory in describing how and what you survived, but only if you see it that way.