48 / CHRONICLESnchanted.nTo make matters worse, they foundnout that Jim Gatlin’s ad had netted himnmore than 700 inquiries. That he mightnactually get what he wanted and thatn700 other men thought that they couldnso easily get what they wanted wasnenough to drive even the most hardenednpacifist to extreme action.nSo the girls came up with an ideanthat state economic development commissionsnmight do well to look into:nthey wrote a letter offering to foot thenbill for Sharon’s divorce if she wouldnmove to North Dakota and establishnresidence here.nActually, the letter never got sent,nbut the chapter’s vice presidentnthought it had been sent and told thenstory to a radio newsman, who told it tona local newspaper reporter before thengroup could get out a news release onnit. The newspaper reporter called thenGatlins in Colorado, and they didn’tnknow anything, and the story ran thennext morning, to NOW’s surprise. “IfnI’d known that that man was from anChristian radio station I would havenbeen a lot more cautious about what Intold him,” the sadder-but-wiser NOWnchapter vice president admitted to menin a telephone interview.n”One of our members works in thenmedia, and she said that stories aboutnthis Jim Gatlin in Colorado kept poppingnup, and no one seemed to bendoing anything about it,” the vicenpresident explained. “We were prettynsure it was meant as a joke, but, frankly,nwe didn’t think it was funny. If he’dnadvertised that he was giving his kidsnaway, people would have jumped allnover him, but somehow society thinksnit’s okay to say things like that aboutnyour wife. Well, when our group findsnsomething that we think is offensive tonwomen, we let the people who did itnknow, and usually, if we’re reasonable,nthey see things our way. So we thoughtnabout what we could do to get ournpoint across, and we finally decidednthat we’d offer to pay for his wife’sndivorce if she wanted to move here andnget one. We didn’t think she’d take usnup on it, but we were prepared to helpnher if she did.”nNow, I think they knew preciselynwhat they were doing, those wilynAmazons. (“Hey, we’re just not asnextreme as our reputation makes us outnto be,” the vice president complainednto me.) I think they understood thatntheir offer epitomized, in a way nonrhetoric could, the essential tenets ofnFINE ART PRINTSnHere is an opportunity to own beautiful,nsigned, limited-edition art prints atnPUBLISHER DIRECT PRICES.nSend $2.00 for complete informationnincluding our full color brochures to:nTHE ARyNDEL POINT PUBLISHING HOUSEnP.O. Box 1058, Kennebunkport, Maine 04046nnnfeminism, namely:n1. Nothing is funny, at least notnvery.n2. Men stink.n3. Marriage is hell.n4. Most women have no brains.n5. Hardly anything is funny.nAnd that all of this could have gottennwrapped up in one little letter thatndidn’t even get mailed and still becamena media event blows me away. Thisnisn’t politics, it’s art.nBut, alas, not all careful planningncomes to fruition, and the story of thenGatlins has a dismal ending from allnperspectives. Jim eventually got a couplenof front-row tickets on the five-yardnline, and we’ll never know whom hentook. Sharon was too far gone fornanyone to help. Explaining why she’dnhave to turn down NOW’s generousnoffer if she ever got their letter, she toldnthe newspaper reporter, “I like it herenin Colorado, and I love my Broncos.”n(“You notice she didn’t say anythingnabout her husband,” the NOW chapternvice president added pointedly.)nAnd the Broncos lost.n]ane Greer lets her husband watchnsports on TV after he does the dishes.n