by Jerry Price                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

On 12/24/09, one Washington Post Staff Writer recently stated about Tiger Woods: “The reason the story has been so engulfing is because of the sheer size of the gap between Woods's public image and his secret conduct.  While his public persona grew up, he never did. Those who fare best with it figure out how to grow up, and own up, even when everyone around them would keep them juveniles, and tell them how wonderful they are.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

I want to suggest that all men, on some level, will struggle with growing up and owning up whether we are celebrities or not.  I think every man must deal with being in our own proverbial “woods” of life, where the decision is to be the man or remain in “boyhood.”  Once we’re alone in those “woods,” our choices are tested. Will we have our family of origin, our peer groups, the guys we hang with, living in secrecy be the measure of manhood, or will we reach deeper into the uncertainty of being alone in the "woods?” It’s the place where support mechanisms and associations are gone and without trying to avoid any uncertainty, we risk when making the responsible “call” as men learning how to love others better.  It’s where we resolve not to live in duplicity and be the phony.                                                                                                                                                                      

I think when it comes to maturing a marriage over time, how a man deals with uncertainty and his fear of being “real” with others eventually determines the quality of his marriage.  How do you see this measure of manhood or the lack of it affecting not just the marriage of a celebrity but any marriage?