The Men In Our Lives

Count on Esquire to publish a kick-ass essay that begs to ask the question - What Is a Man? Author Tom Chiarella set pretty high standards. He's quite specific too. Here's how he starts:

A man carries cash. A man looks out for those around him — woman, friend, stranger. A man can cook eggs. A man can always find something good to watch on television. A man makes things — a rock wall, a table, the tuition money. Or he rebuilds — engines, watches, fortunes. He passes along expertise, one man to the next. Know-how survives him. This is immortality. A man can speak to dogs. A man fantasizes that kung fu lives deep inside him somewhere. A man knows how to sneak a look at cleavage and doesn't care if he gets busted once in a while. A man is good at his job. Not his work, not his avocation, not his hobby. Not his career. His job. It doesn't matter what his job is, because if a man doesn't like his job, he gets a new one.

You can read the rest here.

As one funny commenter put it: Where can I order this man? In my case, God and fate were good and delivered them to me. Well, not a hundred percent the man the essay talks about. That just wouldn't be interesting or entirely relevant. Like, I don't really care if a man orders himself a sauvignon blanc.

Still, the men in my life lick all of Chiarella's paragraph above and come quite close to the rest of his essay's litany of attributes. But if I may add, there's even more to these great men:

A man embraces fatherhood for all its wonders and tumultuousness - courtesy of a somewhat loony daughter. That's my Pa. He would stop a speeding train for me.

A man finds utter joy in being a dad. That's Pappy, father of my babies.

A man gets all excited and proud when his 5-year-old son discovers a new passion in playing the drums. That's Pappy again, being really cool and melting my heart.

Oh and attention please Nana. I must say, as witness to the many guys who lined up at your door, you chose the man for you. Thank God. At times you had me worried. Haha! But I can relax now.

A good father is a good man. Now let's celebrate their day and make them believe that kung fu lives inside them. Because really... it does.