Jack marks the spot

This brick building at the corner of Depot and Benmont marks the spot
of a used-book store but you have to walk up to the window to notice.
Everything makes itself known at some point. (Joey Kulkin photo)

BENNINGTON -- The other shoe always drops, forevermore. Men and women cannot help it. Indeed, next time you look at a photo of lovers -- of the younger variety -- spy where the woman puts one of her hands. The non-verbal message that comes with a woman putting a hand on her man's stomach, or somewhere on his torso, resonates loud and clear with other females, like a bullhorn-amplified clarion call of the wild: Stay the fuck away from my man or I will eat your eyeballs, honey!

Men do it a little differently, especially men of letters. ESPECIALLY men of letters.

I figured out the first territorial marking not long ago.

The other shoe marking just fell. I Googled men marking territory women and clicked on a Yahoo Answers link:

One answerer answered like this:

The term applies to male animals who spray their scent on their territory/habit to make other animals of the same specie aware that the territory/habit is occupied by a male. As a lot of males in the animal kingdom do not like to share their environment with other males, by marking their territory, other males will hopefully find another location to call their home. ... In humans, people may say a man is marking his territory if he does something which makes his presence felt. People will also say it is a man does something which prevents other men in their environment from doing something else.

Another answerers answered like this:

In nature, certain animals "mark their territory" with urine, feces, or glandular secretions as a symbol to show what area they control. Humans, while not resorting to such methods, do the same thing but use body language.

While others who take a high shine to the language of letters are more casual and cool and mark their spot with a well manicured set of words.