PLANTS

Visited Lowe's the other day to buy bedding plants, patio ferns, rope for a cat scratching post, poison ivy spray, and all the other little things spring means you have to have.

Saw a man standing around looking lost. A salesman asked if he needed help. "Not unless you can hurry up the wife," he said. "She's still looking. Might be another hour or two."

A little later, another man came to the front with some shrubs. A salesman offered to help him. "Just waiting for the wife to get done looking."

Eyeing some pretty lavender-like plants, I heard my husband in the checkout line with our cart. "Go ahead," he told the guy behind him. "M'wife's still looking and I don't know how long she'll be."

Is it just me or have men become more patient? Or are they more patient at a home improvement store than they would be at, say, a department store?