Dave's Man List

A long time ago my brother and I discussed what makes an adult as opposed to a grown up. We decided adult was a legal term for 18+ as opposed to the responsibility that being a grown up requires. A grown up needs to be self sustainable; not in a just-getting-by mediocre fashion, but rather a prosperous individual. As I looked upon my looming college graduation and on the verge of getting a job it looked like I was nowhere near being a grown up. Although I seem to fit my own grown up definition I certainly didn't feel like a man. Perhaps this was the missing component from my "grown up".

As I thought of it, there were a number of skills I lacked that all grown up men should be able to complete: tie a tie, carve a turkey, and drive a stick shift. I'd butchered each of these activities before (nothing like 6 months of working at Big 5 while wearing a terribly tied tie) but never succeeded like a man should; thus The Man List was born.

Some items were added because it's a handy thing to know (the above, along with fixing the plumbing) while others were manly experiences (hot shave, cigar, and scotch). The last category I added was an action experience type (think skydive, motorcycling, jumping from train to train, and shooting a gun).

I'll keep the full list on the right side ------>
and try to track my progress over time.

So now that you know what this is, here's what I want from you: more items. Obviously everyone defines manly differently so share your ideas and lets keep the list growing.

 - Dave