Capers 
Joe Ferguson, PhD | January 8, 2010

     Capers are essential to the well-being of human males at every stage of their development. At 8 months, a satisfactory caper can consist of crawling out of bounds or landing on the most satisfying notes of the electronic musical pad beneath our Johnny-Jump-Up. Over the course of the male lifecycle our capers may evolve to encompass skateboarding, paintball, football, girls, cars driven with reckless abandon, forbidden women, forbidden men, business and power pursued with reckless abandon, money pursued with reckless abandon, espionage, war, philosophy or technology pursued with reckless abandon, fishing, golf and unconventional essays.

     The male caper can be satisfied within the law and within the commitments of any reasonable relationship if it is recognized for what it is and addressed in a healthy and straightforward manner, although it need not stay within these bounds. Sneaking out to a movie in the afternoon, going to the Sundance film festival alone for a couple of days, or disappearing into the desert for an esoteric academic conference are like crawling out of bounds for me now. In male caper deprivation a dreadful malaise may set in, especially at middle age, and this can be difficult to diagnose and to cure. Midlife male malaise can result in unexplained weight loss, sudden motorcycles, and the appearance of sweet young things where there should be none. Capers are essential to the well-being of human males at every stage of development. They should be cultivated and nurtured carefully rather than allowed to grow wild. Call me or have him call me.