Vickie - I apologize if you see it in a different light. What I was trying to do was give an example of how a guy could tune out. What guys tend to be interested in (as I've learned from guys at work) is information. Example - I'm technical and tend to not want all the feelings that come along with a topic - I'd like to know the details or "final state" of things rather than the story of how that state came to be. Some guys (not all) may be like me - or maybe I'm different than most.

If I'm wrong, help me out on this if you can (maybe I am missing something). The tune-out that Jan is saying is different than what I was trying to show with my little story (totally made-up).

I'm thankful that Jan clarified for me/us in saying what kind of situation it is. But my point of view may be useful to some degree - in that information loses its value when it contains a lot of extra stuff that may not be part of the story or out of context. I know a lot of men don't state what they really mean - and I'm also saying there are times when men feel that women may be meaning more than they state. You know - when a woman says "fine!" - way more information than stated in that.

The void there is meeting in the middle where both parties can communicate with common-grounds and learning to tolerate or grow from the others' communication skills (or even lack thereof). Sometimes the skills don't match and need to be tuned through continued efforts - or couples end up feeling mis-matched or incompatible because of it.