On the real estate trail, I showed one couple five houses this morning. Oh right – I’m a real estate agent and so far so good. It’s funny how shopping for a house can really bring couples together. Only, today, the couple got into a massive argument over their ceiling price, and I had to hide my embarrassed smile from them. She was screaming at him like a banshee. Like a banshee eunuch. Of course, I don't condone violence. I left them alone for a moment and they made up in the sun-room. But it’s not the first time it’s happened while I’ve been selling. And it’s times like these that I thank God that I have Steven.

But it’s a big decision buying a house, especially for new couples. While she’s thinking about where to put her grandfather’s antique ottoman, he’s thinking about where to put his dartboard. They're all moving out of the dirty city because it dawns on them that they don’t want their babies bushwhacking through the big concrete jungle where everyone’s running into walls. The wife is usually four months pregnant, and the husband is dreading the commute and biting the bullet. Meanwhile, he’s secretly fantasizing what his life might be like if they weren’t pregnant right now.

But business is good. Fierce at times, when good property comes up. If you think the real estate competition is hairy in New Jersey, you wouldn't believe New York City! I have a “colleague” who has literally connected with intensive ward units in hospitals – like, befriending these people and taking them out for drinks -- to find out who’s dying and if they own an apartment and where and who will get the place after the death! If the abode is up for grabs, she usually makes a killing (no pun intended)!

Anyway, I’m showing this couple a few more houses later this afternoon. They needed to take a lunch break and I suggested they take it alone. Hopefully, they’ll be on the same page when we meet. Sometimes, you can’t help but feel like a shrink with this job. But if they don’t buy, that’s okay too. One thing I’ve learned is: you win some, you lose some. And you can't take any of it too seriously. I think about the Wild Wild West. Where Europeans and Easterners were set free into Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, and all they had to do was take their little flag the government gave them and stick it in the undiscovered dirt and that was their land. No real estate people like me behind them, telling them the maintenance, square footage or price. No fighting over the ceiling price. Just a simple conversation about where to put the outhouse, where to park the wagon and what to kill for dinner.