What is the youngest age of a male, that you consider a "MAN"

[kp4att]

IF THEY CAN DO THIS:

[Bentong]

A real MAN knows and admits what he can and cannot do.

[geewhiz380]

I must not be a man yet cause i havent done that and like bentong said everyman knows his limitation .I became a man when i left to the milatary at the age of 19 after high school cause my wife was pregnant and i steped up to my responsability .now im 44 years old and have six children ranging from 15years old to 25 ....jorge

[Bentong]

George..that is  the spice of life, after school and on your own two feet it becomes the opposite. While at school you study your lesson first then take the test while in life, you take the test and learn the lesson afterwards. Some learn life's lesson the hard way.

[jay morgan]

WOW, really me & MCvay in the same sentence's that's sad,but I guess if you don't know the diff. between an air-borne trooper & a RANGER,OH well can't expect much more from a sqiud(sorry dad he was a proud navy man of WWII) & huh I always liked jimi's sound's & bikers well I showed one who stopped by today your post(I actually read it too him you know how they are) between the grunt's & hoot's & knuckel dragging,Well you said you know about us so go figure the drift of it .And a airplane gosh really, the more would be ,OH I don't know maybe U.S. AIRFORCE CREW CHIEF OF LARGE EXPERAMENTAL AIR CRAFT,just the B-1,2's& 117's you know about now. Won't even go to the gun part.Guess I'll just go & stand on my word,the view is pretty cool !!!!! LATER SNOWBALL's

[bil601]

Took you long enough. Been thinking of stuff to say?  What no sense of humor? You guys had no problem linking me to a drug dealer. All Id did was throw out a couple "what if" questions. You guys took it personal. I never said anything about any of you. Next thing I know Im accused of all kinds of stuff. Heard a lot of "Im a man & I know what a man is".  Got quotes from the bible and everything. Everyone throwing out thier good deeds & military service. A little disappointed the John Wayne thing didnt get a better response.  That would have got me a smack in the head at grandmas house. You guys went from what is a man to "Im a Man", & heres why. Glad to see everyone so secure in thier manhood. Yes the military will make you a man. Even some of the women. Everyone should have to go. Jay sorry about the Mcvay thing. I though about it. Then did it anyway. What can I say thats the way squids are. The biker thing well eveyone knows thier kind, loving, &  caring. Just misunderstood. What were you thinking they were.

[Meann-Machine]

Bill,

I understand the question posed by you is:

What is the youngest age of a male, that you would consider a real "MAN" !

But having had the opportunity to read and consider the responses made as well as you own addendums perhaps it could be better put, "What makes a man a "MAN".

I think the answer is both simpler and more complex than it seems. When you can look yourself straight in the eye, in the mirror, and be able to say out loud, to the guy looking back at you, that I don't have any regrets and I like the guy I'm looking at, then I think you are looking at the face of a "MAN", in that mirror. It sounds easy and maybe a little stupid and maybe a little simplistic, but its harder than you think, especially if we are really burying something we don't want to admit to ourselves. You can look in the mirror and think, for example, I'm a good provider or I'm a good father, but just thinking it will let the one half of the brain fool the other half into thinking everything's ok. I have had clients I whom I have asked to look themselves in the mirror and admit, out loud that they were an alcoholic. One guy told me he couldn't do itwithout holding his head with both hands to keep from looking away. Finally, after having really admitted it to himself he was able to begin to change. Admitting our flaws to ourselves is one of the hardest things any one of us can do. Being a man is being able to look yourself in the eye, recognize your flaws and do your d*mdest to change them. No one of us will achieve perfection but each one of us can do his best to be the man the next guy could count on and that man that anyone of us would be proud to call his friend. You can never put an age or a date or a time limit on that. I might have been a "MAN" before, but not be one today or I might be a "MAN" yet falter and fail myself or others on another day. I can only continue to be a "MAN" if I truly am trying to be the best man I can be. If we do that, then everything else falls into place.

[Meann-Machine]

Bil,

If you ever make it to Iowa I bet we would have some interesting discussions. Don't know if you'd like a good single malt but I see some things in common; motorcycles, air rifles, shooting and an understanding that the world is full of shades of gray and very little black and white, among them.

[Big_Bill]

Hey Craig,

I was hoping to find out how many members have met what I call "MEN". Dependable, Honorable, Strong in mind and spirit, real )John Wayne or stronger "MEN".

I have know a few GREAT MEN, and several Real Men in my life. Men that you would walk through fire for, and they would do the same for you. And much more to save your life !

I asked for there age so that I could see if such men still walked the earth ! I know some still do, I just wondered if others have met or know "MEN" like this, and their ages.

I don't consider myself a "Great Man" or a "Real Man", but I have tried very hard to meet these standards. Legal restraints have prevented me from doing what I knew was necessary form time to time. And I do believe many men have faced this same dilemma. A "Real Man" would have done what he knew or believed necessary, regardless of the consequences.

Just my inquisitiveness working hard again.

SO, WHO DO YOU KNOW THAT'S A REAL MAN, AND HOW OLD IS HE !!!

Bill

[rocker1]

my son big bill, he stepped up to the plate at the age of 12 , after his mother left us suddenly for the promise of the pot of gold on the end of the rain bow. i was left paying bills based on 2 paychecks. i worked in a dealership at the time and when i got off work i would start second shift in my basement on cars and trucks, he looked after his younger brother learned how to cook and wash cloths when he got his license he drove my old truck around played baseball and worked at pizza hut. he payed for the braces on his teeth bought his own classring and payed mostley for his graduation i never asked him he just done it!!! he is now married and has a 6 year old girl which he adores he never misses a ballgame of hers. in my book he has all the characteristics of a real man and i am proud to call him my son. thanks david

WOW David,

That's some story ! I know that your son has me bested in some ways !!!!

Your a lucky man, and must be a Great role model yourself, to have such a son !

I worked since I was 6 years old, but I worked in my grandfathers store, cleaning, stocking the shelves and delivering the groceries. I didn't get paid much, and what money I did get paid went to my mother. I kept the few tips that I received for delivering groceries The tips were few and far in between, because they knew my grandfather owned the store :0

Congratulations !!!

Bill

[Meann-Machine]

Again Bill, if I may, let me rephrase your question again.

 Who is the youngest person I know that I would trust with my life, my fame, my fortune and my family.

Difficult question that, mostly because I just don't have the opportunity to interact with people a great deal younger than I and therefore I don't know most of them well enough to place that type of trust and reliance upon them. You and Ishare the same generational parameters.My work puts me in frequent contact with a 38 year old man I would probably trust my back too and I go to church with a 31 tear old man I think I could count on but that's based on my judgment of his character. I haven't raised any sons but I would trust my oldest daughter to watch my back, without question, and I can tell my youngest daughter is headed in thesame direction. They are 22 and 18 respectively.

[Meann-Machine]

Good answer.

[TCups]

How old?  I don't know.  My son is now a man.  It is a process, not a certain age or date to be reached.  I suppose he was well on his way to manhood from about the time he reached puberty and he is still working on becoming a better man,  -- like me.  It begins, I think, with taking responsibility for one's self and one's own actions, and ultimately, taking on the responsibility for a wife and family, if that is the course a man chooses.  It has a lot to do with honesty (always being truthful to others) and integrity (always being honest with yourself), but it is more still.  It has to do with a well-developed sense of ethical behavior -- of right and wrong.

"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company; a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe."

- John Walter Wayland

[bil601]

Someone  got what I was saying. I dont just look at things from a different angle. I like to turn them inside out. Single malt sounds yummie you have a deal. Ill bring the cigars. Charlie

[Meann-Machine]

Well said.