Page 18 - Indulge October/November 2014
P. 18
his man cave ERMEMOOTTEE
By Patrick O’Donnell
18 | INDULGE • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 There’s no question that our lives have become a It occurred to me then that life would be a lot easier if I
high-tech jumble of electronics and gadgets galore. embraced my inner Luddite: Forget my high-tech ways and
Smartphones, iPads and Bluetooth devices are ubiquitous. get back to basics, Hemingway style. Maybe I should trade
my Macbook Pro for the Wordsmith’s Manual Typewriter. It
My Man Cave — which doubles as my home office — has a classic keyboard that would let me pound out prose
is a jumble of snaking extension cords and USB cables. in 10-characters-per-inch, Pica 87 font. The catalog said it
My car’s dashboard looks like the bridge of The Enterprise. imparts a “unique, personal character to every letter, piece
of prose, or verse of poetry.” I don’t know about that, but
Sometimes, though, that technology gets to be a bit I do know it exudes cool, and it doesn’t have a cord. Or a
much. Especially in the morning, before I’ve had my remote. Not sure how I’d lug it to work, though.
first cup of dark roast.
Relaxing at the end of a day like that
I have a routine: grab the coffee, which if I remember is a key to my sanity. And my Man Cave
to prepare the night before, should have brewed. Pour provides me a bit of respite. I can crack
some in my insulated Starbucks travel mug and the rest open a bottle of Highland Park 18-year
into a small Thermos. Get my boys breakfast. single malt and trade my laptop for a
Get ready for work. Trees Rustic Leather Journal. It’s 200
pages of 67 lb., hand-torn ivory vellum stock that’s
Kiss the boys goodbye, grab lunch and hand-sewn to the binding. The front has a hand-
race out the door to try to beat traffic. stamped illustration of a wooded glade that makes
me feel like I’m in my own Walden. Best of all, it’s
As I head down the driveway, I made in New Hampshire.
select a playlist on my Bose stereo Proper lighting is important to setting a relaxing
(lately it’s been tracks from the new mood. And I can’t think of a better piece of manly
Black Keys album, Turn Blue). mood lighting than something that’s made out of
iron pipe fittings and an antique beer bottle. It has a
The other morning, though, wasn’t simple, fitting name, too: the Beer Bottle Lamp.
so smooth. I was running late. My A warm glow from something that once held a cold
coffee wasn’t ready. The boys didn’t brew — it doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
want to let me leave. So when I My other choice of Man Cave mood lighting is
jumped in the car, it was several stop a piece I picked up many years ago, with my first
signs later before I had a chance to writing paycheck: a gold-toned banker’s light with a
think about music. I reached into my green shade. It’s a classic look that never goes out
pocket for my iPhone. of style, even when updated with a CFL bulb.
Now, if only I could find something to make
The only problem is, it wasn’t my that morning routine easier. Like Rosie, the robot
phone that I pulled out, but a remote maid from The Jetsons.
for the house entertainment center. As long as she doesn’t come with a remote.
Somewhere between tying my
tie and getting the boys oatmeal,
I grabbed the remote and shoved
that in my pocket instead.
And no, it didn’t work with
my car’s MP3 player.
By Patrick O’Donnell
18 | INDULGE • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 There’s no question that our lives have become a It occurred to me then that life would be a lot easier if I
high-tech jumble of electronics and gadgets galore. embraced my inner Luddite: Forget my high-tech ways and
Smartphones, iPads and Bluetooth devices are ubiquitous. get back to basics, Hemingway style. Maybe I should trade
my Macbook Pro for the Wordsmith’s Manual Typewriter. It
My Man Cave — which doubles as my home office — has a classic keyboard that would let me pound out prose
is a jumble of snaking extension cords and USB cables. in 10-characters-per-inch, Pica 87 font. The catalog said it
My car’s dashboard looks like the bridge of The Enterprise. imparts a “unique, personal character to every letter, piece
of prose, or verse of poetry.” I don’t know about that, but
Sometimes, though, that technology gets to be a bit I do know it exudes cool, and it doesn’t have a cord. Or a
much. Especially in the morning, before I’ve had my remote. Not sure how I’d lug it to work, though.
first cup of dark roast.
Relaxing at the end of a day like that
I have a routine: grab the coffee, which if I remember is a key to my sanity. And my Man Cave
to prepare the night before, should have brewed. Pour provides me a bit of respite. I can crack
some in my insulated Starbucks travel mug and the rest open a bottle of Highland Park 18-year
into a small Thermos. Get my boys breakfast. single malt and trade my laptop for a
Get ready for work. Trees Rustic Leather Journal. It’s 200
pages of 67 lb., hand-torn ivory vellum stock that’s
Kiss the boys goodbye, grab lunch and hand-sewn to the binding. The front has a hand-
race out the door to try to beat traffic. stamped illustration of a wooded glade that makes
me feel like I’m in my own Walden. Best of all, it’s
As I head down the driveway, I made in New Hampshire.
select a playlist on my Bose stereo Proper lighting is important to setting a relaxing
(lately it’s been tracks from the new mood. And I can’t think of a better piece of manly
Black Keys album, Turn Blue). mood lighting than something that’s made out of
iron pipe fittings and an antique beer bottle. It has a
The other morning, though, wasn’t simple, fitting name, too: the Beer Bottle Lamp.
so smooth. I was running late. My A warm glow from something that once held a cold
coffee wasn’t ready. The boys didn’t brew — it doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
want to let me leave. So when I My other choice of Man Cave mood lighting is
jumped in the car, it was several stop a piece I picked up many years ago, with my first
signs later before I had a chance to writing paycheck: a gold-toned banker’s light with a
think about music. I reached into my green shade. It’s a classic look that never goes out
pocket for my iPhone. of style, even when updated with a CFL bulb.
Now, if only I could find something to make
The only problem is, it wasn’t my that morning routine easier. Like Rosie, the robot
phone that I pulled out, but a remote maid from The Jetsons.
for the house entertainment center. As long as she doesn’t come with a remote.
Somewhere between tying my
tie and getting the boys oatmeal,
I grabbed the remote and shoved
that in my pocket instead.
And no, it didn’t work with
my car’s MP3 player.
