Most men will freely admit that there are many things about how women think, act and feel that they do not understand. Some will admit that they don’t care. They are not interested in romance and relationships, just quick scores and “friends with benefits.”
Still, I believe that most men, if they could, would like to understand woman better, find “the one,” and be involved in a long-term, mutually-satisfying relationship. This may be less true for 18-year-olds than 30-somethings, but even young men find themselves wishing for better relationships with the women they think are special, despite the best efforts of their hormones to distract them.
Fortunately, there are some men who have the training and opportunity to work with women often enough and closely enough to begin to understand them. Rolando Gomez is one such man.
A couple of years ago, I received a call from Rolando, a photographer and author who has traveled the world as a military photographer, sports photographer and photojournalist. Over the course of a 40+ year career, Rolando has also developed a unique style of glamour photography which led him discover both Penthouse Pets and Playboy Playmates and to begin a new career writing photography books. He has raised four daughters, photographed thousands of women of all ages, sizes and shapes, both models and non-models, and, in recent years, lived and worked with his love and muse, Heather Carden and her two daughters to build what they call their “Americano Dream.”
I have taken a number of Rolando’s photography workshops and they are great for learning photography of all kinds, understanding equipment, learning lighting and learning how to work with people. We are both night owls, so we have spent a number of late nights sitting around and talking after the day’s shooting was done. We discussed photographic theory, photographic equipment, working with models and many other subjects not necessarily related to photography. He called me because he had an idea for a radically different, non-photographic book that would be different from any that he had written before. Hewas looking for someone to bounce ideas off and help with editing the manuscript.
The result of our collaboration is Taming the Trouser Snake—A Man’s Guide to Relationships, Romance, Sex and More.” It distills Rolando’s 40 years of experience working with women across several generations. He has watched and learned from seeing how they, their roles in society and their relationships have changed. The book has been as well-received by women, who see in it many of the things they would like their men to know, as it has been by men who truly want to develop lasting relationships with women as colleagues, friends, and, of course, partners and spouses.
Guys, you will almost certainly gain some—maybe many—useful ideas from this book.Ladies, give a copy to your man and discuss it with him. I’m betting you will both be happier!
“This informative guidebook’s wealth of information belies its farcical title and entertainingly demonstrates that ‘there is much more than snake skills to being a real man and a gentleman.’
Practical, perennial direction for the modern man.” –Kirkus Reviews
