Have you ever wondered why a man’s favorite place at home is the BBQ? Have you ever been curious as to why he retreats to the garden shed when his mother in law is on her weekly visit? Do you ask yourself why that garden shed only has enough space for one? And should his lawnmower be at the garage being fixed, why does he fill up that empty space at lightning speed maintaining his ‘man cave for one’ status in vehement defense?!
Welcome to the comedy of a man’s favorite activity: PEACE!
As a solo traveler who has spent 16 years on the road non stop, in an abundance of calm, I have to finally admit it, I am beginning to understand why men hide in their empty box! That mental space where they go when they want SILENCE! And at any opportunity, that box extends to the BBQ!
Getting between a man and his BBQ is like getting between an Italian and his 3 hour lunch. It’s a NO NO! Now, the beloved BBQ’s is a whole book unto itself! Give a man a job to do in the kitchen and he could easily make a B line for the shed and you won’t see him for days. But ask him to do a BBQ at the weekend, and he jumps from submissive to 007 in one fell swoop. Not only that, but he’ll run around the garden like a Benny Hill extra with a smile the size of the Panama Canal!
Anyway, all kidding aside with my comedic license, men and asados or BBQ’s to the rest of the world is akin to women and high heels! Although men get the better deal – a nice lamb chop doesn’t give you blisters or have you turning into a lunatic at 3am when Uber has gone awol and you are navigating cobbles! And while we are at it, give a man a beer next to the BBQ and he is as happy as a pig in mud. My question is why?
No more so did I see a man’s ‘happy place’ than in my time in Argentina and the famous ASADO! This was a macho man’s job and women were practically banned from going anywhere near the BBQ! Of course, that was until they met me. LOL. Rule breaking is like an Olympic sport and I’ve ‘won’ many a gold medal!
Of course, when someone tells me I can’t do something, I will always find a way! And that includes getting my paws on the BBQ equipment (evident in said photo above LOL!) That contrarian spirit has brought me the funniest of times on my solo travels. And take it from me, one bat of the eyelashes in South America and they become putty in your hands. You can distract them in their culinary prowess and slide that BBQ fork from under their nose, especially if they are on beer all afternoon.
To authenticate this post, I have taken my early journalistic endeavours to interview a few BBQ-loving men. The jury is still out given the different opinions. BUT one thing that is a common denominator is the elusive EMPTY BOX that men have in their brains where they go for mental time out. That place has only one thing written on the door and that is NO WOMEN ALLOWED.
You see the BBQ is kind of like the empty box, where a man can be at peace. He doesn’t need to think at all. And kudos! The less you actually think, the happier you can often be. All he has to do is light the fire, open a few bottles, and place that meat on the flame and wait. Given how men do one thing at a time, (a secret weapon), and do it well, a BBQ allows a man a LOT OF PEACE. So ladies, if you want him to be at his best, ALLOW him peace!
And just to avoid any mutiny around here, I love being a woman! This is not a men v women debate. It’s more that solo travel, among the millions of plus points, opens the mind and enhances observational skills. And you don’t even have to go solo traveling to witness the comedy.
Even as someone who loves femininity, I can see the advantages men have. If we use the analogy of a road from London to Monaco, in terms of how people think, some women would go London, Paris, back to London, pit stopping in Cannes, (which clearly wasn’t even part of the plan) before finally getting to Monaco and deciding you preferred London! (Bless us multi taskers!). And don’t get me started on the return!
And a man? Well he goes London to Paris in a straight line and in silence, not paying too much attention to the view, because lets face it, he can only do one thing at a time!). And the woman? Not only is she enjoying the view but wants to stop, selfie it and chat about it for at least 30 minutes and make sure you know what she has seen! LOL!
PLEASE NOTE: life would be so damn boring if we all took the same road! Men should be men and women should be women!
Men, bless them! Simple creatures but highly effective at doing one thing well. Women, the toughest cookies on the planet who will burn the BBQ just to annoy him for not taking the trash out last night!
PS if you want to be in his good books this Christmas, buy him a rocking chair with a beer holder on the arm rest and a poster of Pamela Anderson! And when he comes out of that shed, feeling romantic, tell him you are retreating to your own ’empty box’ for the week and he can makes his own damn dinner while you head out on a girls night via the spa!
So, if you can’t beat them, join them. I’ve created my own empty box and it is BLISS! And spare a thought for the man in his shed…he is blissfully happy hugging his little heater while taking in the view of Pamela! Just as life is meant to be…
And PS! If you love comedy, I will be publishing my new (and first) book – What would Carrie Do…? – on Amazon in Nov 2022, all going well. Please join the mailing list for updates or save this website in your favorites.
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