Entries tagged as ‘manly matters’
It’s really important to use the right cut of lumber for the job at hand. We can find an example of using the wrong dimension in this story from WNYT:
AMSTERDAM - Two adults and one juvenile were transported to the hospital Friday night after a large fight, according to Amsterdam police. They say the altercation happened on Green Street and Kimball Street around 6:45 pm. Police say a large group of juveniles and adults were fighting with 2 x 4 boards as weapons.
While a 2 x 4 is imposing, it’s very difficult to get a good grip on it. Why not use a 2 x 2 instead? It’s a lightweight alternative that you can easily wrap your hand around. Don’t forget: take the time to inspect your wood for flaws and knots, especially if you’ll be using it in a visible location —like out on the street in front of your house.
Categories: News
Tagged: crime, diy, fixing things, manly matters
At forty-six, you don’t bounce back the way you used to. Actually, I’m not sure you bounce at all. I took a firefighting class over the weekend and spent a fair amount of time crawling around on my hands and knees, climbing through windows, and dangling from ladders. When people hear you do this stuff, they talk about how it’s noble work and it’s great that you’re serving the community, and so on —but the truth is that it’s fun. When you’re eight-years-old and you see your father running out to fire calls, jumping on the trucks, and hanging out with the guys at the firehouse it leaves a powerful impression. It looks like fun when you’re eight and it looked like fun five years ago when I finally joined up. And fun it is.
But boy, am I sore.
Categories: Firefighting
Tagged: manly matters
When Dancing With The Stars comes on, I’m gone. I can’t stand to watch even five seconds of that show—especially not after what they did to Steve Guttenberg this week. Completely unfair. Anyway, I totally leave the room, except if Jason Taylor is on, because that’s more like watching football than dancing —and I DON’T WATCH DANCING. This is despite the fact that I am trained in ballroom dancing. I spent a lot of time with Ann at Lorraine Michaels taking lessons a few years ago. The first night there, the instructor came over and said we’d have to switch partners after each dance. Switch partners? “Yes,” she explained. “In a social situation, you’ll dance with other partners, so you need to get used to it.” Ann was watching to see what came out of my mouth. “Why would I dance with someone else?” It’s nice to know in a life full of saying the wrong things at the right time you can smack one out of the park now and then.
Categories: Marriage
Tagged: dancing, entertainment, family, manly matters
Zack whispered, “That boy has a doll.” I really wanted to tell him that it’s OK and lots of boys play with dolls, and isn’t it about time we broke down these gender identity roles. But I couldn’t. I also couldn’t tell him about Barbie. When he was a toddler, he got his hands on a Barbie somewhere. Naturally, I was aghast. Alex, who was 10 at the time, demanded to know what I was going to do. “Well…I’m going to get rid of it.” He asked if we could bury it in the backyard. I can’t remember why, but that sounded like a pretty good idea, so early one morning I snatched Barbie and we sneaked outside. In the garden, not far from where several goldfish are interred, we dug a shallow hole and committed her to the great hereafter. Someday someone will find what we buried, but they’ll never know that they’ve dug up more than just a doll.
Categories: Kids · parenting
Tagged: boys, family, manly matters
Honda has a whole campaign to make minivans look cool called Respect the Van. As someone who’s been called a loser once or twice for driving a Honda Odyssey, I say right on. Those who disrespect the van need a wake up call. For example, my van can be linked to Greek mythology, because like Odysseus it’s been to both Troy and Ithaca. You might also say that it’s been tempted by deadly Sirens since I drive it to fire calls. Has your car been tempted by deadly Sirens, like Odysseus and my van? I think not. Hey, I stopped trying to look cool a long time ago, and after all, why would I want to drive a BMW 750i when I can have the van? As for the idea that a man’s car represents something else, we turn to Peter Sagal, host of the quiz show Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! on NPR:
If a sports car is a symbol for the owner’s manhood, well, my manhood is capacious and large, and like Walt Whitman, contains multitudes. And, improving on Whitman, my manhood has a luggage rack. -Morning Edition 4/26/07
Categories: Modern Living
Tagged: advertising, cars, greek mythology, manly matters
