There’s so much to say, and so little time to get it all out. So let me get straight to the point by sharing this new segment of Rapid Fire Love.

**I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing men can do to change the perception among certain women that we’re “all dogs.” Even if we decided as a collective to avoid cheating for an entire year, it still wouldn’t be good enough to overcome that stigma. In the eyes of some, a man can never be trusted under any circumstance—no matter who he is.

**I’m beginning to believe that women use the word bitch towards other women more than men do. Which begs the question: how can you expect a man to respect you if he doesn’t witness you respecting yourself or each other?

**A woman’s downfall in a relationship typically comes as a result of an extreme part of her personality that the man can’t handle. Either she’s too jealous, too needy, too materialistic, too demanding, too meticulous, or my personal favorite, too “air-headish” … yeah, tell Merriam Webster I made that one up.

**75% of all relationship arguments are needlessly prolonged solely out of a selfish need to be right.

**Whether you know it or not, men are probably more afraid of being alone than women are.

** For many, social networking now serves as the first date, as it eliminates the awkwardness that takes place when getting to know someone.

So those are my thoughts for the day. If you have your own rapid fire thoughts, now would be the time to share them.

I’ve been a little under the weather the past few days, so you’ll have to excuse me if my writing feels a little “dry.” It’s not that I’ve completely lost my sense of humor, but searching for the funny in life and in love gets to be tedious when you can’t breathe out of your left nostril. But that minor inconvenience aside, this time in bed has really given me an opportunity to reflect on my life, and to discover new ways to relate my experiences back to our constant exploration of love and relationships.

Take my job as a writer for instance. I’m not sure if I’ve ever explained this to you, but the main reason that posting occasionally gets slow is due to my alternate life as an entertainment editor. Each week brings new assignments, which in turn provides new reasons for me to bounce around from city to city ……. (Now that I think about it, that’s probably why I’m sick in the first place.)

So I was in New York last week, and casually fell into an interesting conversation with an airline pilot. I began to tell her about how I practically live on airplanes, but that I’m still not entirely comfortable with the takeoff. She laughed and replied, “Well, you being uncomfortable is certainly understandable since that’s the most vulnerable part of the flight.”

Now maybe it’s the medicine that’s making me look too deeply into her words, but I think there’s something to be learned from this. Before a flight begins, there are a series of checks that must be done before the tower will clear the plane for takeoff. In the rare event that something is overlooked, disaster often occurs. Just Google “plane crashes” and I’m sure you’ll find that a large majority of those accidents happened shortly after takeoff. In the aftermath, investigators often determine that the plane was never fit for takeoff in the first place.

Now I know what you’re thinking … what in the world does that have to do with relationships?

Everything.

There are so many of us who jump into relationships that were never fit for takeoff. We’re just so anxious to be with someone, that we don’t do the proper spot checks to make sure that it’s even safe to embark on the journey. Then when the crash happens, we’re left with the same conclusion as those plane investigators: “This should have never been cleared for takeoff.”

Just look at the facts:

You already knew that he was no good.
You saw flashes of her bad attitude and selfishness on the first date.
You knew that you weren’t over your ex yet.

Should I continue?

In all honesty, we’ve probably all been guilty of occasionally ignoring the signs that were right in our face—the signs that said, “hey, you might want to keep this plane parked on the runway until the conditions get better.”

In the future, if we learn to trust air traffic control a little more—that would be our conscience—we may be able to avoid many of the same crashes that have plagued us in the past.

Make sense?

I hope so … I’m going back to bed.

Before we officially close the chapter on this Sunday, I wanted to share something that has been on my heart for the past few days. You know, it’s easy to look at your situation and think that you’re the only person going though it—especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

When you’re single, people are quick to say, “Be patient. Your special person is out there.” But that’s not very reassuring when those words are coming from someone already happy and in love.

So let me say them to you … that’s right, as a single man.

I believe that God has blessed me with a unique understanding of love and relationships, which is the main reason that I write and express myself. But for all of that relational understanding, I have yet to meet the woman created to be my soul’s counterpoint.

But I know she’s coming.

So as I patiently await her arrival, I ask that you do the same. But the key word here is “patiently.” There’s no need to force any square pegs into the circles of your life (which is something that I used to do all the time.) Just relax, and let things happen as they’re supposed to. When that special man or woman comes along, I guarantee it will be worth the wait.

In the meantime, just enjoy life, and enjoy the wonderful family and friends that you’ve been blessed with. Deal?