There's a guy where I work who is definitely a manly man who does manly things in a manly way. Over all the years that I have known him, he has never shied away from hard work or getting dirty. His leathery, calloused hands are proof enough. He is the very ideal of a rough and tumble laborer. His demeanor and ethics were shaped through his father who set his blue-collar example through more than 40 years of back-breaking manual labor. Like father, like son. Yet there is more to this man than his scuffed steel-toed boots, his dinged up hard hat, his deep and gravelly voice, and the cigarette hanging casually from the corner of his mouth. A whipped icing and batter-filled side that forms an interesting persona in comparison with the burly tough guy that I know.My friend is just a few years away from his long-planned retirement at his current job. After that, he is shaping his dreams and future to partner with his wife to open a local bakery selling all sorts of treats and goodies. I can't help but smile when he brings a tray of his decadent treasures in to share and to watch his face light up as he describes his recipes, his baking techniques, and his passion for his cupcakes. That is sweetness itself.
