In the months before I packed up for Abu Dhabi, I worked in Deerfield with one of the most macho guys I’ve ever met. Ex-marine, former collegiate athlete, unbelievably competitive. His entire life he always wanted to have sons so he could mold into them into perfect athlete, drink beers with them, etc. Well, life has a funny way of working out, and he ended up with three daughters and no sons. When I worked with him, all the girls were still fairly young - the oldest was 8, I believe.
One Monday I was talking to him about his weekend, and he was telling a story about how he spent Sunday playing Pretty Pretty Princess with his daughters. You probably know the game, but I had no idea as I grew up with two brothers. He explained how you collect all this plastic jewelry over the course of the game – tiaras, earrings, necklaces, rings, etc. A hilarious image to begin with knowing how macho this guy is.
Like a normal parent, he started letting his young daughters win. About halfway through the game, however, he snapped and his uber-competitive nature came out. The rest of the game he absolutely dominated them, and won by a commanding margin. Instead of letting it rest, he then took a picture of himself wearing all the ridiculous plastic jewelry and tiara that he won over the course of the game, and put the picture on the fridge. When I asked him why, he calmly said:
“So they always remember how much it sucks to lose.”
