This is so "Men Are From Mars"-ian. He clearly doesn't recognize your cue for his empathy and encouragement to begin, whereas some woman you met on the bus would understand immediatlely what you need to hear.
Our daughter, now an adult, and I laugh that she knew what to say to Mommy by the time she was twelve. My husband of many, many years remains clueless much of the time. He tries to problem-solve, or sometimes to one-up (although, as DrSpork says, he probably sees it as putting my problem in perspective with the world's problems).
Meh, I love him anyway. I just call The Kid, or come here, when I need something different than what he's got to offer.
Maryn, sympathetic, empathetic, and occasionally just plain pathetic