MAN LIST THAT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH OF A MAN

A good man list leads with one thing:

Be attentive.

Without paying attention, what’s the point.

Wait, where are you going?

Men have a tendency to drift.

This link to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, which we’re all acquainted with due to the Covid pandemic, show FastStats on marriage and divorce.

Does it seem odd to find marriage and divorce stats on the CDC website?

Not if you’re married more than a few minutes.

After that the drifting starts.

“What would my life be like with someone else? It’s a pile shit now, how could it be worse?”

Is there a more ‘fuck around and find out’ example for men and women?

“But we have a friendly divorce,” is a common thread after an unfriendly marriage.

If you’ve heard these magic words, “Why don’t you talk to me like you talk to your friends, you know, like you care,” it’s time to be more attentive, man or woman.

But mostly men since this is a Man List post.

If you can’t hack marriage, don’t get married one day and divorced the next. It makes all married guys look bad, like we just jumped in blind and never opened our eyes. Ever. Again.

By the way, speaking for all husbands worth a damn, we see just fine. We just don’t make a small mistake into a deal breaker, like leaving the milk out a second after pouring it on our oatmeal.

Man List Power: Another Poor Example

Be attentive to the lives around you, big and small.

If you know some big deal people, and you’re no big deal, be a good listener.

‘But it’s hard,’ you think.

Here’s a secret I’d like to share. If fashion is defined by women dressing for other women, what defines men pumping themselves up to other men?

In sports it’s all about championships at the highest level. The rest of us get participation medals and a juice box while the winners take the podium.

My favorite athlete, Rick Sanders from Portland’s Lincoln High School and Portland State University, won two Olympic silver medals.

Maybe that says more about me by choosing Sanders and not a gold medalist.

Watch this clip and you’ll know why.

Real men don’t need to explain themselves in the great detail they may roll out. If they were important, you’d already know them.

If they are genuine human beings it shines through them without the words, “Look at me. Hey, look at me.”

It’s up to you to know the difference.

Wrong Men At The Wrong Time

A devout man, a coach, had a case decided by the Supreme Court.

He wanted to take a knee for prayer with his players on the football field.

It’s not enough for the coach to pray for his players health, the health of the other team, and a special prayer to all the parents who sign their kids up to play high school football.

That’s not enough? Yes, it’s enough. It’s not a social competition.

I had a football coach who was an elder in his church, or a deacon. He was more than a common parishioner.

Did we have a pre-game prayer? A post game prayer? No, and no. He was a damn good football coach, person, and church man. Coach Johnson could have called for prayer, but didn’t.

It couldn’t have hurt our record.

2

Have you ever been asked to pray with others out of the blue? I have.

So there I was, in for eye surgery to remove cataracts. All good to go, sitting in the chair, waiting for the needle in my eye.

Nurse: We have a short prayer before we start. Are you okay with that?

While I was looking forward to better vision, I wasn’t about to add any distractions to an established routine. I thought about that needle in the eye before I answered.

Me: I’m more than okay. In fact, I’d like to say a prayer of my own afterwards.

They said their prayer. It was nice. Then I took my turn. In a louder voice.

Me: HELP ME JESUS.

That’s the only prayer anyone needs. Just say, “Help me, Jesus.”

Why is that enough? If we believe in a God that knows every hair on our head, then Jesus knows what you’re asking help for.

I’m no Pope, or a clergy member in robes, but I know Jesus and he approves.

My prayer is a take on the Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus have mercy on me.

I came out of the eye clinic chair with 20/15 vision.

Decision Men Of Poor Character

Men and women of poor character are changing to even worse character when called on.

Taking down Roe v Wade is their hallmark victory, but over what?

What’s it do for boomer women beat down by their jackass husbands so long they dare not speak up.

The youngest boomers were born in 1964. I’ll use my fourth grade math skills here and say the women born in 1964 are fifty-eight years old in 2022.

I’ll show my work: 1964 to 2024 is 60 years, then subtract 2 for 2022.

Few boomer women will have abortions, or need one, but if they do?

What if their daughters or granddaughters have a dire pregnancy that turns life threatening to them? Who will momma turn to?

A locked door.

2: Man List Wrap

Aging is a problem for everyone.

Kids want to grow up fast so they can do things they see others do.

They don’t know the Window Rule.

Window Rule: It opens slow and shuts fast.

One day you’re sixteen, out on the Highway 101, making plans.

The next day you’re sixty-six and wondering where it all went.

Who is not wondering? Men with a Man List punishing women.

They are men who can’t tell the difference between kids gunned down in a barricaded classroom along with their teachers, and a gun lobby lining their campaign coffers.

Or, men blinded by the brilliance of their misguided convictions of doing for others who have no consciousness of their choices.

“If my husband says it’s right, then it’s right.”

Who wants that on their Man List?