Week 9 Day 4

            There is little else that can be considered more “manly” than working on a car or truck.  And something about doing it brings out the testosterone in me.  I did a pretty simple repair today by replacing the battery connectors on my 1992 Ford Ranger.  The old ones were pretty worn, made of lead and the bolt had broken off one of them. 

            How is it that working on a truck brings out the masculine nature in me?  Why can’t I get that feeling from unloading the dishwasher, dusting a ceiling fan or changing a diaper?  (I suppose I might feel that way since I haven’t changed a diaper yet.)  Is our cultural programming so intense that these other tasks are just not ‘adequate’ for a man to feel manly?  Perhaps I am alone here and overstepping cultural assumptions, but I hope that in the future and future generations the desire and need to inject doses of manhood by working on cars, watching pro wrestling and earning more money than your partner can be replaced with more domestic past times. 

            I’m a man.  I feel manly.  I’m a carpenter.  I do the laundry.  I am not an ass.