Manhood doesn't come from a magazine

Places like Don's barn don't appear on lists of how to be a man, or things to do by the time you're 30. It's way more authentic than that. (SitNews) Klawock, Alaska - I read a magazine article a few months ago that told me what I needed to have done by the time I turned 30. About the same time I read another which listed all the requirements of being a refined 30-something. I turned 33 last week which means I’m already too late, but I figured since I’m immature, I could still read it.Not surprisingly, I discovered I’m only a mediocre man compared to their standards and have little hope. I’m not rich enough to do or have done things like sleep under a mosquito net on a boathouse in the Amazon, ride a yak across Mongolia, or take a dirt bike to Patagonia; no occasions in southeast Alaska require me to own my own tuxedo and I would rather spend money on fly-tying materials or .270 rounds than a “weekend bag.”The lists also had recommendations about appropriate social settings for a man my age. In November my buddy Abe and I returned from a successful hunt and stopped by Don’s place to hang a buck. We socialized there for a while discussing shots, and ways to butcher deer. Close enough? Editors of magazines who compile lists of locations where men can accomplish social feats rarely travel to a place like Don’s barn. Even if they have, the recommendation is a simple visit, rather than commitment to the lifestyle in which one would consistently encounter such a place.

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