Ole Blue Eyes Is Back

I just finished reading The Way You Wear Your Hat by Bill Zehme about the late Frank Sinatra. I was one of those people who came to appreciate Sinatra's body of work after he had passed away, but it wasn't until I read Zehme's book that I came to appreciate the man behind the music.

Sinatra may not have invented cool, but he came closest to perfecting it. His life and lifestyle made the papers, but they also made for a code of conduct for men everywhere who were willing to learn it. Tipping, women, love, friendship, fashion...the Chairman was a walking copy of Esquire. And he lived like the giant among men that he was. Zehme's book outlines the rules of life Sinatra lived by, as demonstrated in the words he said and in the actions he took. This wasn't some New Age philosophy dreamed up in a boardroom; this was Sinatra's life.

After reading it, I was struck by a few things, but one of the most stunning was the fact that there aren't many men like Sinatra around anymore. Men in this country have lost a lot of what it means to be a man and to live life like a man. Those of my gender who have heard the call are slowly turning the tide against men who are almost ashamed to be men. That's something the faux left and rabid feminists have done in the past couple of decades, and it's worked wonders for them. That is, until men stopped feeling bad about being who they are. Real men are tired of the political correctness, the finger-pointing at men as the cause of every dumb issue that comes down the pike, the expectation that men must act like less than men to be considered civilized. And we're not going to take it anymore.

It will be a challenge, but I hope more men pick up on what the Chairman taught us. Sinatra may be gone, but his life lessons are as sharp as ever, and The Way You Wear Your Hat proves that Sinatra's legacy will last well beyond his years.

As it should for such a legendary man.