What I know about Bavaria can be summed up in one word: Nothing.  Well, that's not entirely true; I know they make those cream-filled donuts there, or claim to.  Also, I think Bavaria's somewhere in Europe.

Hold on a sec...

OK, now I know a lot about Bavaria.  Thank you, Google.

It turns out Bavaria is a free state of Germany, with an area of 70,553 kilometers (that's about seven miles, American, or 2,574,548,882,888.01 centimeters, I think) and contains about 12.5 million inhabitants.  The state capital is Munich, which is way cooler than Lansing and produces some really good beer.  And the politicians there manage to keep things going without the occasional threat of a statewide "shutdown."

Maybe that's because Bavarian politicians, some of them at least, are also way cooler than the people we have running our government here in Michigan.  I'm thinking right now of Gabriele Pauli, who heads up Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).  Apparently, in Germany, they aren't so enamored of that whole "separation of church and state" thing.

At any rate, despite all the Christian references in German politics, Ms. Pauli has expressed some views that would shock the pants off most American Methodists, which would be a bad thing, as American Methodists prefer to appear in public with their pants on.*

Ms. Pauli - who is one uber-hot redhead, lemme tell ya - has suggested that marriages, by law, should last no longer than seven years.

In a press interview last month, Pauli said, "The basic approach is wrong ... many marriages last just because people believe they are safe.  My suggestion is that marriages expire after seven years."

After the seven years are up, Pauli advises, couples could decide to either extend their marriage or simply walk away.

Pauli, who is 50 - but like I said, still a hottie - has been divorced twice.  On her Web site (www.gabriele-pauli.de/) she is seen dressed in red and black leather, straddling a motorcycle.  I have no idea what her politics are, because I don't speak German, the language of her Web site.  But I know I'd vote for her anyway, if I could, if for no other reason than that she dresses in leather and rides a crotch rocket down the Autobahn between Parliamentary (or whatever they have in Bavaria) meetings.

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with Ms. Pauli's marital advice.  Frankly, it took The Lovely Mrs. Taylor and me at least seven years before the dust even started to settle on our marriage.  It wasn't until Year Nine that the ride really smoothed out and got comfortable.  If we had split at Year Seven, we would have missed what has - so far - been the best part of our lives together.

The trick, I think, is not to worry so much about how long you're married, but about who you marry.  Pick the right girl - say, one who doesn't get upset when you mention how hot some German politician looks in red and black leather - and chances are it'll last a lifetime.

* I'm not trying to pick on Methodists here; most Catholics and Lutherans also prefer to wear pants.

To contact Mike Taylor with your questions, comments, or marriage proposals, e-mail mtaylor325@gmail.com or write via snail mail to: Mike Taylor, c/o Valley Media, Inc., PO Box 9, Jenison, MI 49429.