the following is all the necessary traits of being a man one must have to be a man:
if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too;
if you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
and yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
---
if you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
if you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same;
if you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
or watch the things you gave your life to broken, and stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;
---
if you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose, and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss;
if you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone
and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;
---
if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
if all men count with you, but none too much;
if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—
“Here we go!” Harry smiles as he walks towards the Namco Funscape Fun Center with Ethan. The four-year-old has latched his hand around Harry’s pointer and middle fingers, holding on as if it is his one source of protection. “Are you excited for some man time?” Harry asks as he looks down at his son whose eyes are like the lens inside a set of binoculars, surveying the area, taking in the door in front of him. The little boy looks up at his father nervously, nodding his head.
Harry opens the door and a flood of noise rushes across their bodies. Ethan lets go of his protection and slams the palms of his hands over his ears, blocking out the noise that is all around them.
“Do you want these?” Harry crouches down, knowing his son can’t hear what he is saying, so he shows Ethan the green noise canceling headphones. Each child has their own pair for Harry’s concerts. Grace: pink sparkly; Ethan: green; and Penelope has purple. You typically drag Ethan’s pair along to loud events or activities due to his sensitivity with noise.
Ethan’s eyes brighten at the sight of peace. Peace from the noise, so he can feel less stimulated. Harry stretches the headphones out, replacing Ethan’s palms with the soft material.
“That better?” Harry asks, slightly worried that this wasn’t a good idea. Ethan throws a thumb in the air, giving his dad the signal that he is okay. Dancing his hand up Harry’s leg, it lands on his father’s and curls around the fingers of safety once more.
Tugging Ethan’s hand, Harry motions towards the opposite side of the building. Ethan’s eyes are the size of a magnifying glass as he surveys the area. The lights, the people, the games, the rides. The environment is slightly overwhelming and Ethan huddles his body closer to Harry’s as he struggles at taking in the excitement. Harry’s hand brushes over the little one’s head as they turn a corner into the restaurant.
“Pizza?” Harry says to Ethan who looks at his father like he is speaking Japanese. Harry reaches his arm down, lifting his child up on his hip. Lifting the right headphone, Ethan winces and then relaxes when he hears that the sound isn’t too bad over here. “Would you like some pizza?” Harry says softly but loudly enough for Ethan to hear.
“Call-flower?” Ethan asks as he looks over the top of the glass at the ten pizzas that are waiting to be served.
“No, Stud.” Harry chuckles. “This is the real stuff. I’ll tell you a secret.” Ethan nods his head with excitement and leans his head closer to Harry. He presses his lips close enough to Ethan’s face so he can hear his whisper. “It’s even better.”
Ethan’s mouth opens and his hands slap against his cheeks, shocked at his father’s secret. “Betta den Call-flower? No way!” Harry laughs at the truth bomb he just dropped on his child, and walks down the line, showing Ethan the different types available.
“Pepperoni, or they have vegetarian. Oh this looks like it just has cheese. What do you say, Stud?” Looking over at his child in his arms. Ethan slowly pulls down his headphones, tensing his body, preparing for the loud noise that is on the other side of the arcade. Looking at his father he rests the noise cancelers around his neck. “Pepperoni?”
“Nah uh. Veggies!!” Ethan says with a grin that make small crinkles appear around his eyes.
“Two pieces of vegetarian pizza please.” Harry orders their food. “Salad?” Ethan nods his head happily. “Two house salads as well please, and we will just have water.” Finishing their lunch order, Harry and Ethan slide down towards the cashier.
“I pay?” Ethan asks as Harry pulls out his wallet, prepared to pay.
“Here, give this to the nice lady.” Harry hands Ethan some cash, prompting his next step.
“Tank you! Have nice day!” Ethan waves to the lady, as she hands them the tray of food. “We sit at green table?” Ethan wiggles out of Harry’s arms, much more comfortable in his surroundings, and bolts over to the green booth across the room.
“Green sounds perfect!” Harry walks behind him, placing the tray on the table, separating out the salads, pizza, and water for the two of them.
“Daddy? We play games after pizza?” Ethan is curious about the schedule for the rest of the day.
“Yes! I was thinking some games, maybe bumper cars?” Harry wiggles his eyebrows, knowing the bumper cars are a little out of his comfort zone, but hoping his four year old is feeling a little adventurous.
“Okay.” Ethan shoves a fork full of greens into his wide open mouth, the salad sticking out of his lips as he attempts to get it in his belly. He crunches his meal, closing his eyes with happiness. “Yummy leaves. Try it, Daddy.” Ethan points to Harry’s untouched pile of spinach. Harry stabs it with his fork, taking a massive bite of greens and humming the second it hits his tongue. Ethan giggles at his father’s reaction.
“Daddy? It loud where we play games?” Picking up his pizza, Ethan’s tongue flops out of his mouth like a baby giraffe ready to catch the end.
“Probably, but you can wear your headphones, Stud.” Harry takes a bite of his pizza, then swishes it down with a gulp of ice water.
“Just like your work?” Ethan asks, trying to find a similar experience to connect to.
“Yup. Just like my work. But a lot more fun.” Harry chuckles before taking another bite of pizza. The boys finish their meal, Ethan licking his lips and telling his father, “We have to bring Bug and Mum for real pizza!” Harry agrees with his son, deciding they could come back as a family for a later date.
“Let’s put these back on, Stud. We are gonna go play some games, and it will be loud again.” Harry helps Ethan bring his noise canceling headphones from around his neck to their home on his ears. Moving them slightly, Harry adjusts the ear pieces so they are snug on Ethan’s ears. Giving each other a thumbs up, they move towards the arcade section of the building.
Harry loads their playing card with money so that they can play the available games. Holding onto his father’s fingers, Ethan takes in the area. The lights flash around him and there are people running from game to game. Harry squeezes his hand three times, giving Ethan the comfort he needs to feel safe. Spotting a game ahead, Ethan runs towards it.
“This one?” Harry points towards a Plants vs Zombies game that shoots real water from the trigger. Ethan throws his arm in the air and jumps with excitement before climbing in the seat. Harry moves to swipe the card but is intercepted by a small hand.
“I pay!” Ethan smiles. Harry guides his son’s hand in swiping the game card through the machine, and Ethan giggles with pride. The game begins, and cartoon zombies pop out of the ground, making their way towards them. The trigger begins to shoot water, hitting the zombies and freezing them until they disappear. “Get em! Get em!” Ethan shouts, his smile lighting up the room more than all the fluorescents combined. “Daddy. You get ‘em!” Ethan looks over at Harry, the joy pouring out of his body at a rate that is unmeasurable.
Harry shouts with glee as they defeat their zombies, giving Ethan a high five. “Way to go, Stud!” Their hands clap together as 15 tickets pour out of the game.
“Tickets!!! So many tickets!!” Ethan squeals, clapping his hands like he just won the lottery. Reaching down he pulls the red string of paper in his hands, staring at it like it is worth more than gold.
“Should we win some more?” Harry grins at his kid. Ethan bites his lip and runs to the next game, one that involves throwing balls into holes.
Harry and Ethan enjoy the afternoon playing all sorts of games, sometimes repeating the ones that became favorites, the zombies being one. Ethan giggles as he throws the balls to knock down the clowns, and is excited to try and shoot a basketball. With each game comes some amount of tickets, and Ethan is more than happy to see them shoot out of the machine, his hands struggling to hold onto the massive amounts of tickets but insisting on being the caretaker of his prized possessions.
“Should we go cash in our tickets? Get a prize?” Harry smiles at Ethan after they finish up their man time with some Pac Man. Ethan nods his head and walks slowly behind his dad, holding tightly to his tickets, ready to turn them in for something exciting.
Harry pulls Ethan into his arms, allowing his son to put the tickets on the counter so the employee can count the tickets. Ethan looks at the wall of prizes, trying to decide what one will be his. “850 tickets.”
‘Wow. That a lot of tickets, Daddy.” Ethan looks at his father with his mouth open in the shape of an O.
“That is a lot of tickets. So let’s see what you can get.” Harry helps Ethan by telling him the options he has available for the amount of tickets he won.
“Daddy!! I want the rainbow!!!” Ethan points at the wall, bouncing in Harry’s arms as he points at the object.
“Rainbow? I don’t see a rainbow, Stud.” Harry is confused, not seeing a rainbow in sight.
“Right there!” Ethan leans forward pointing as straight as he can towards the giant rainbow in front of him.
“Oh you want the slinky?” Harry sees the colorful slinky placed in the shape of a rainbow, and Ethan squeals. “We will take the slinky.” Harry says to the employee who hands over the beautifully colored toy. “You have 150 tickets left. Do you want something else? I see some snakes over there, or you can get some candy.” Ethan wiggles out of Harry’s arms and begins to survey the glass cases.
“Glow sticks for Bug! Daddy! Glow sticks!” Ethan is excited by his find. “Gracie needs a prize too. She loves glows sticks in the tubby.” He giggles, pointing at the glass where the glow sticks are kept.
“You sure?” Harry verifies with Ethan who nods his head with confidence. “Glow sticks for Bug.” The employee pulls them out and places them on the counter. Ethan stands on his tip toes, grabbing the package and holding it in his arms safely until he can give it to his sister.
“You have 75 tickets left, bud?” The employee tells him. “So anything over here can be yours.”
Ethan looks at each item, thinking hard about something. “Ducky!” Ethan points at the container full of rubber ducks. “The baby ducky.” He directs the employee who pulls out the plastic yellow toy dressed as a baby. “That for Penny.” He smiles, content with his choice.
“Looks like you have 10 tickets left.” The employee says. “You can pick out two pieces of candy down here.” He takes Ethan to the end of the case. Ethan’s eyes expand as he realizes he has enough for two more things.
“Come on daddy. Pick one.” Ethan says to his father.
“I’m okay. It’s your prize.” Harry smiles as his child.
“No daddy. I win a prize for the family. You and Mumma get a treat.” Ethan is serious as he explains to his father that his hard work in playing those games was for the benefit of the whole family. Harry’s heart swells as he watches his selfless child get a prize for each person in their family.
Harry and Ethan decide that mom likes chocolate, taking her home some chocolate buttons, Ethan giddy about his surprises for the family. Harry buckles his son in the car, making sure his seat belt is tight before kissing his head.
“Daddy?” Ethan questions.
“Stud?” Harry replies.
“I like man time.” Ethan states, smiling down at his handful of prizes.
“Me too buddy.” Harry kisses his forehead again before closing the door, ending a successful day of fun with his favorite little boy.
