johnnyhongkong says…

I’ve been working on a few projects lately so I’m sorry that I’ve sort of been like an errant father, dropping in and out of your life. It’s going to be like this for a while - wedding planning, new projects, etc. - so you can hate me when you grow up, just don’t make me pay for your therapy.

In the meantime, Esquire has published their list of 75 essential life skills for men.

I have about half of the skills dialed in (most of the indoor skills) and want to be able to do most of the other half (mostly rugged outdoor skills), such as jump a car without drama (35) or find the way out of the woods if lost (68).

However, glaring in its absence is the skill to properly lead a lady in a ballroom dance.

Know your dance. Whether it be the waltz, tango, foxtrot, salsa - whatever - pick one, learn it and know it like you know your way home.

Now comes the hard part - leading the lady. It requires you to move confidently so that you can move the lady gracefully. This is done by silently communicating her movements (your intentions) to her with your right hand on the small of her back. The subtle nuances in this communication will differ from dance to dance and knowing them is part of knowing the dance.

It’s a lot to keep together, especially if you’re not a natural dancer. It is made even more difficult if you’re not naturally assertive. Nobody ever said it was easy to be a man.

The important thing to remember is that the lady’s job in a dance is to look good and have fun. Your job is to make her look good and to do that, you must give her a solid, confident lead so that she knows what she is doing and can look good while doing it.

Oh, and don’t forget to turn the lady at the end of dance.