I earned back my man-card this weekend

By 965koit on December 2, 2019

As a man, there are times when you are expected to step up to the plate and do something manly. Do not ask me why, it’ i just how most guys are raised. Those times are VERY rare for me. It is not often that someone seeks me out to perform a stereotypical man action. Which is understandable, I spend my days sitting at a computer or organizing my lightsaber collection. Not something most people would consider to be “manly,” even though lightsabers are very dangerous weapons.

This weekend I was challenged to reach into my wallet and pull out my man card. I hadn’t needed it in years so it was nice to know that it was still there. As we were leaving to go to the Bowl-A-Thon on Sunday, the garage door wouldn’t open. I hit the button several times and it would open for a second and then shut right away. Once it did finally open, it wouldn’t shut. So I had to manually close it, but first I had to get the car out. Kristen turns the key and nothing. Dead. She tries it again, and it doesn’t start. That’s when I had to switch into MAN MODE. 

Man move #1 – I tell Kristen to pop the car into neutral, I summon the strength I forgot I had, and push the car out of the garage and guide it down to the curb.

Man Move #2 – I ask a neighbor if they are willing to help jump start our car. She agrees and pulls her car up. I go into our trunk and pull out the jumper cables, attach them to both batteries (like a MAN) and we are able to start the car. Even though I’m never sure which car to hook the cables up to or if it’s positive or negative first. Apparently I did it wrong but it still worked! Here is the proper way to do it.

After we got the car started we were ready to go! But then…the power steering started locking up on us. We were only about 20 feet from the house when we stopped and decided it was unsafe to drive 30 miles in the rain. So we called a tow truck to come take the car to the Mazda dealership. When the tow truck got there, he jumped the car and told us the battery was too old and that is why our power steering was acting up.

Man Move #3 – Instead of taking the car to the dealership, I drove it 2 miles down the street to an autoparts store in the rain to buy a new battery and have them install it for me. However, they were understaffed and suggested I drive 5 more miles to have them install it. I said no. Give me the wrench and I’ll do it myself! Having never actually done this before, I proceeded with caution as I removed the old battery while being rained on. Once it was done I started the car and BOOM. It worked. No more issues.

It may not be the most manly thing anyone has ever done, but it was nice to be reminded that when I need to, I can still get greasy.

Here is the right way to replace your battery in case you ever need to know.