Man-thing-o’s---Things a man wants to do, or thinks he has to do, to be a man’s man.




Every man has certain ideas about what a real man should be today, but seldom do two men agree about what these things should be.  For some it is the outdoor sports such as hunting and fishing which determine the worth of a manly man.  For others fast cars, trucks, or motorcycles, are the height of machismo.  Golf, tennis, airplanes, the list goes on and on and actually, no one really cares.  But it is the doing which makes the difference.  After all, unlike long ago, men do not get to leave the tribe for many days at a time to face huge animals face to face with only a stick with sharpened stone on the end.  Nor would they want to in reality.

Man-thing-o’s aren’t new, they have existed since the dawn of human evolution.   Men are always trying to get a one-up on their buddies.  It has to be deeply ingrained into a mans psyche or in the genes, whichever you wish, or it wouldn’t still be important enough to care about.  Sure, video games are making inroads into making men less physically involved in man-thing-o’s, but so far they aren’t something really considered manly. But this may change in the future.

Some men seem to think puking is a trait exhibited by macho men.  Drink too much beer, ride in a fully aerobatic airplane, go deep sea fishing (again, beer involved), all of these are a signs of men fulfilling their man-thing-o’s ideals.  You could also include in this example the eating of disgusting items which also could induce the same reaction.  Of course, this could also be genetic in nature.

Man-thing-o’s aren’t meant to be experienced alone. A friend is always along, otherwise, the sense of accomplishment is nonexistent. A man must have someone to compare thrills and chills with. Even puking can sound exciting if a buddy gives a great play by play account. EXAMPLE-- “Tommy Bob puked and puked until he felt something round and hairy in his throat, but he swallowed it back down because he knew it was his butt hole.” See, without the friend’s description the story wouldn’t have the same ring of truth to it.

Despite the fact that men can’t agree on the most important of the man-thing-o’s, they still feel a certain amount of respect for the endeavors attempted by their peers. Personally, they are glad there are so many choices of manly activities to choose from. Certain man-thing-o’s require different skills and strengths in order to successfully achieve the desired results. Others only require participation to qualify for man-thing-o-hood. Golf would be one of these types of activities because of the handicapping system.

We men don’t expect the ladies to understand this concept nor, in actuality, do we really want them too. They look at us sort of pitifully as we prepare to go out in the woods with our buddies where there is no chance for a decent bath or shower, eat our own cooking, and of course, there’s beer involved as usual. It doesn’t sound fun to them at all. But hey, we men feel the same way about weddings.