Anthony and his wife Betty, came for counseling after 20 years of marriage. When asked what the problem was, the wife went into a passionate, painfultirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 20 years they had been married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and, after asking the wife to stand, embraced and kissed her passionately as Anthony watched with a raised eyebrow. The woman shut up and quietly sat down as though in a daze.

The therapist turned to Anthony and said, 'This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?'

Anthony thought for a moment and replied, 'Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I go fishin.'