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I woke up on the lovely 21st day of May 2020. As usual, I could hear the early birds chirruping in the woods outside. Through my bedroom’s glass wall, the morning sun stood cloudless in the blue skies of Berlin. My first text message read, “Happy Men’s day! Are you going to meet your friends and get drunk?” They call it “Himmelfahrt” in German. In English, it’s “Ascension Day,” a Catholic holiday memorializing Christ’s levitation to join his heavenly Father up above. Being the heathens we all are, the German men use this Father’s day to bask in masculinity. That includes feasting and binging on alcohol until their wits go numb or evil. Oh, how I wished I had lived here ten years ago. I’ve slowed down a bit recently.
I feel like Don Corleone, watering his plants, at the end of The Godfather Pt. 1.”
I spend time examining literary supplies. These days I have a few unpublished manuscripts to complete. My masculinity is a great prerogative that I never take for granted. I know my power, and I grow to appreciate my strengths every day. Consequently, what did I do on that glorious day of debauchery and binge drinking? I stayed home to finish planting flowers in my garden. I’d have been at the center of troublemaking a few years ago. Now? I want to buy a farm with cattle and horses… I feel like Don Corleone watering his plants at the end of The Godfather Pt. 1. I didn’t even look in the liquor cabinet, even though I was tempted to pop open a bottle of bubbly and turn on the fireplace.
After gardening all afternoon, I returned to an evening feast of baked salmon with vegetables. I still follow my dietician’s order – no carbs, colorful veggies with meat, or fish. The goal is to develop a more healthful eating habit slowly. And we expect that to result in weight loss and fitness. However, if this experiment works, it will completely revolutionize my upcoming cookbook. It will go from merely photographs and recipes to a guide to gaining good health by eating nutritiously. That might be a go-to cookbook for single men who wish to master their feeding habits. In Europe, they believe one can lose weight by simply adjusting to a healthier diet and eating the appropriate portion of food.
It’s like the only thing holding me back from really taking off…”
If so, even the most obese person returns to their appropriate weight. That’s the experiment. Years ago, while getting my Toronto on, which I still do (I rep Canada hard in these parts… but yeah), I joined the Ontario Rotary Club, where we did work with the Toronto Rib Fest. I recorded a song called “And Then They’ll Grow.” The initiative was to “end child hunger nutritiously.” Eating the freshest vegetables and meat. Later, I embarked on writing a cookbook, which I dubbed “Boy’s Cooking.” That book is meant to help single men to avoid growing a pot belly (as I almost did) while learning how to choose and cook the healthiest meals possible. All women will enjoy that cookbook just as well. Yep, it’s a shot in the dark.
It’s interesting how the recent events of my life appear to lead down the road where such an undertaking will be an authentic experience. I get to experiment with the help of a skilled dietician and then write a cookbook revealing the results. In my teens, I only wanted to live in the city. God has a sense of humor. After living in several cities, He gave me the best life I couldn’t imagine. It came with the beige carpet, sectional couch, furniture, curtains, and even beige window walls I envisioned. It’s like the only thing holding me back from really taking off are certain decisions and commitments I made in the past. Happy belated Men’s Day to you all!*
