Man rule # 37. . . . . With good and sufficient reason, it is ok for men to cry.

There are hundreds of rules that must be followed to be a man. Eyes straight ahead at the urinal and no conversation of a non-sport variety unless it was a continuation of an ongoing conversation and then conversation may only be with a person who is at an adjacent urinal, you must wait at least 6 months to date your buddy's ex-girlfriend (an exemption can be obtained if 1 or more degrees of separation exist), etc. etc. But this is not about them. I will include some of the rules and more importantly, the unwritten and secret rules of Man conduct in the future. But I would like to take this opportunity to focus on 1 rule. The rule of tears.

Man Rule # 37 states, "If at all possible, a Man is to refrain from crying where another person may see him. If it is not possible to conceal the tears, a good and sufficient reason must exist or the Man will lose 3 man points for each such occurence." Pretty plain and simple. Avoid it if at all possible. If not possible to cry in solitude, you must have a darn good reason. The entirety of the rule includes several examples of sufficient reasons for exception. But that is not the purpose of this post.

If there was ever a good and sufficient reason, this qualifies. It is the 5th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11/2001. Tears are not mandatory, but certainly acceptable. I still can't watch a tribute or a documentary or any show I have seen about 9/11 and not still tear up and cry.

Since 9/11/2001, I have cried exactly 17 times. 3 times in May 2004 when my wife and I had a miscarriage, once when my daughter was born in 2005, four times in the course of the year just holding her while she slept, and once again when she turned a year old last month. One time was for my brother and his wife after they had their daughter and after a near fatal birthing and emergency hysterectomy made it impossible for them to have more than 1 bilogical child. And 1 time when I saw the "Passion of the Christ". Every other time has been for the catastophe on 9/11.

I hope I always cry in remenberance of those who fell prey to the terror attacks. And just as important, my tears fall for those who were left behind to try and cope and move on with their lives when no logic or reason could ever soften the pain. My prayer is that all those that were responsible will be brought to justice, simply for the sake of those who lost a loved one.

I also pray that one day we will be able to live in a world that is free from the kinds of people who would perpetrate such a cowardly and dispicable act. If that day ever arrives, I will cry not for the loss of a good and sufficient reason to cry, but with joy that one reason to cry has gone away. May God bless the fallen and those left behind.