Men In Leisure

Men in Leisure 

When my friend Melissa and I were going into our senior year of college (well, my extended senior year), we took a weekend trip to Boston. Melissa just got this incredible new Nikon, and we decided to roam the city documenting “men in leisure.” A "man in leisure" can be defined by us as: any man seen relaxing in a leisurely way with his eyes closed. 

It was an accident, really. We were in the Museum of Fine Arts (my first time), and as we walked out the door, we noticed some guy splayed on a retaining wall. We couldn’t see his face, but knew he was cute. I think it was the way he draped his body along the wall. He was laying on his side as if he were about to do Pilates sidekicks. One of his knees was bent up to his chest. For a guy who was getting some shut-eye, he had great balance. He was so cool. The epitome of cool. Cool personified.

His body was perfectly sculpted as one would think a serious cyclist would be—and he was serious. How did we know he was a cyclist? He was wearing very serious, body-contouring, tight bike shorts. I really didn't need to see all of it, but there it was. "I am a Golden God!" He probably said that to himself a million times. He was definitely a mirror-worshipper. Perhaps he had too much sun because that day his bike helmet provided a tip of shade, and his expensive racer bike was purposely propped up against the wall so any minute he could sit upright and jump on it. He was definitely a "man in leisure" with a purpose. He probably spends his life running away from love. The moment deserved to be captured. Snap! Man in Leisure (MIL) number 1.

We walked away joking about our MIL and how we may have some great new concept on our hands. Or it was just the most hilarious idea we had ever thought about and the one thing we needed to fill up our summer — and take our minds off our relationships, or lack there of. We couldn't stop giggling on the T, wondering what our next find would be like. We just roamed through the streets, I am not even sure where we went next, but ultimately found Man in Leisure number 2. This guy was slouching on a park bench. He was the opposite of Leisure 1. He was old and rather rotund, his rolls hanging from his core, as he slept with his feet to the ground, arms dangling from his sides like two blocks of ice melting. It was a very hot day. A prime candidate for mugging, I thought. But I am ridiculously paranoid about these things.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the protruding rolls—each were so full, so hearty, and had clearly enjoyed a lot of living, I thought. I stared at that fat guy for a long time. You know when you get the sense someone is looking at you? He knew, but he didn’t care. He didn’t cock his head when he gave me the stink eye. He hardly moved at all when he opened one eye barely enough to stare back. He shut it quickly. He had been judged before. I started to make up a story about him in my head. It was lunchtime, and he had just punched the clock for his daily walk—at least that’s what he tells his coworkers back at at the shop. But he never gets too far, because he plops down on his favorite bench for his much-needed respite from his rolls of life. As happy as he is (he had a smirk on his face), he is dying inside because he will never be the person he set out to become when he was a kid. All those dreams… Now he was just going through the motions. He once had a purpose and now, he was just a MIL without one. Getting through the day can be so hard, I thought he thought. (What can I say? I live in my head.) 

A photo of my husband with our youngest—
and SURPRISE! Look in the background. A Man in Leisure.

When I think about this MIL collection, it could have been so interesting. I don’t remember how far we got with it that day—what I remember most is the heat and how we high-tailed it to the Christian Science Plaza to dip our feet in the reflecting pool, along with many, many others. We didn't find any other MILs that afternoon, but Melissa put her Nikon to good use. She got some great shots of kids being kids, running around splashing, jumping, laughing. It was really fun to watch them have fun.

And, my own Man in Leisure—my husband.

Men in Leisure.  It has such a great ring to it, doesn’t it? I still look for MILs. And now you are aware, you probably will, too. And if you look close enough, you can find one everywhere you go—even in your own home.