Tim Allen: Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man

All of my life I have wrestled with men's penchant for destruction. But I have also admired our ability to re‑create what has been destroyed. The ability of men to create is in many ways and at many times the very best of us. Of course, we can't create the way women can, and that truth has a profound effect on men, at many levels. At worst, we experience feelings of uselessness, mistrust, even hostility. At best, we long to protect, provide, and create.

The creations of men are wonderful things to behold. Just watch a man build a race engine, tie a fly rod. Overlook for the moment that we can also create the most fiendish weapons. Observe the painter at work, the mason building. That's why tools are wonderful, that's why shop class is wonderful. When men are building they're not threatening. When men do not threaten, they nurture and maintain their creations. This is something I hope women understand. There's much to learn about the male animal, particularly through the things we make.

Go to a hot‑rod show. If you haven't been, just go once. I know, I know: Lots of women don't like hot‑rod shows. But go and you will see what turns men on. You will see the details. Look under one of these cars. See how it's polished and chromed. It's so clean. And colorful. Yet it's the underside of a car.

Whatever man does, he can undo. Whatever we have destroyed we can re‑create. Whatever we've created badly we can remodel. What we've forgotten we can relearn. This is the genius in man.

Men don't need to be tamed. We just need to be listened to just like women. We need to be left alone now and then, just like women. Men have some class, too.

And now excuse me, I've got to take a leak.

I'll try to remember to put the seat down afterward.

Thanks for reading.