It’s November, which means a bunch of dudes in moustaches are attempting to write novels. Movember, as those in the Mo call it, is the month that men from different races, religions, and countries set their differences aside and grow moustaches in the communal spirit of facial hair solidarity.

Though I shaved my beard at the end of October, it has returned and is strong. Soon, before November Thanksgivings its way to December, I declare an oath and will shave a moustache. I’m delaying this as long as possible since a mustache on me makes me seem like I am not allowed within 500 feet of a school.

Movember started the same year I graduated high school, 2004. I first heard about it in 2011 from my then roommate Ray Conway, a man so manly he spells Dos XXs with three Xs. I would keep him away from your sister and grandma, but you can be right sure that when I collaborate on a baby  Ray will be a strong candidate for being The Godfather.

In honor of the man who introduced me to Movember, here’s a series of Ray Conway memes that the whole family can enjoy. If you like these, let me know (I would love nothing more than dedicating a blog post a month to Ray Conway memes).

Now that we’ve had our fun with Ray, it’s time to get down to some serious testicular cancer battling business.

This blog, Travel. Write. Sing. has just been challenged by another blog, AIM To Travel to put together a “Manly Bucket List” in honor of the manly month of Movember.

There’s a lot of challenging going on in the blog world this month (all this facial hair is making us fearless). AIM To Travel was challenged by another blog Peanuts and Pretzels to write a Manly Bucket List.

Your chance to win: First one to answer in the comment section where the term Bucket List Comes from wins an epic prize (for reals).

Ray Conway only told me that November was the month when you grew a mustache. He didn’t tell me why and I didn’t ask why (first role of growing a mustache is not to question things).

For some people growing a mustache is the end, for others, like Josh, it is the means.  According to Josh from AIM To Travel, the spirit behind Movember is to bring awareness and funding to men’s related health issues like prostate cancer and testicular cancer (Things we hate the most).

A bit about Josh from AIM to Travel: Just last week he flexed a connection to grant admittance into an exclusive cannabis club in Barcelona called La Mesa, where I might some exceptional internationals. (Josh is not only teaching me things, he’s helping me forget them).

I feel like I owe Josh not just a list, but the manliest manly bucket list ever written. I have seven brothers and a beard and turn friendly activities into balls to the wall competitions by nature. It is not going to be easy to beat Josh’s bucket list. He included some pretty manly things, like swimming with sharks and scuba diving with alligators. But it’s manly to try.

1. Travel across Asia, learn Martial Arts from the masters. Accept Check Norris and Jackie Chan’s challenge to fight. Trounce them both using a double head spin kick.

2. Make a cabin entirely out of grizzle bears that I killed softly with my song. Ask Lewis and Clark about their problems with man-eating bears what their solution was (hint: it was axes)

 

3. Be A Man. Forgive The Raccoons

If you’ve spent five minutes in the same room as me, it’s likely I brought up the fact that I am a raccoon survivor. When I was viciously mauled by a raccoon, at first I was angry at all coon-kind. When I got over that I was vengeful, and believed that all raccoons deserved to die.

Today, after getting back into meditation, I am much more Zen about things. Part of being a man is learning how to forgive. I forgive the raccoons for those scars on my legs that I show to strangers everyone every time I wear shorts. I would like to climb the mountain of forgiveness, and one by one, forgive raccoons for being the stupid, dumb, mean animals that they are. They can’t help it, they were born the worst.

 

At the risk of sounding like the last three manly bucket list items were fake, the next two I am serious about, and these are both things that I have wanted to do for a while and upon my manly word, will someday do.

 4. Walk from one end of Mongolia to another

Seven years in Tibet is one of my favorite books. There is something intrepidly romantic about peregrinating on your paws. After reading Rory Steward’s book “The Places In Between” where in 31 days he walked from one end of Afghanistan to another, I decided that I wanted in on such a “feet.” (sorry everyone). I started to think about where I wanted to do that and decided upon Mongolia a place of rugged terrain and a manly way of living.

5. Live off the Land

When I was a kid I used to eat up any book with the words “how” or “survive” in the title. Doesn’t it sound like a symphony: eating berries, wrestling moose with my bare hands, digging up grubs, trapping marmots, bathing in naked waterfalls, and howling at the moon. So for my last Manly Bucket List item is to survive in the wilderness for a month or a day. Stick me any: a desert island, the jungle, the woods, atop a mountain; just so long as I have my trusty coon skin cap and my iPhone has service.

Pass the challenge on. Parting of being the challenged is about becoming a challenger. So as I was called on to man-up, I am asking six other bloggers of all ages and genders, to come up with their own manly bucket list of travel activities that will put hair on their chest.

 

1. Captain and Clark from Captain and Clark. Captain and Clark are in my wolf pack. I have howled at the moon with them. I have watched them drink whiskey like it were pedialyte.

2. Matt Stabile of The Expeditioner. Matt Stabile was born with a beard. Once I saw him soar up a mountain and bellow to the world below like a crazed animal.

3. Jen Martinez from Wanderlust Latina. Yesterday Jen was at the table next to me at Little Skips Cafe where she had just launched her travel blog. She’s catering to intrepid Latina women, which is exactly what I’ve been doing for the past six years. If she thought being new would keep her out of fights and challenges, well… wahahaha.

4. McKenzie from Book Worm Vagabond. McKenzie won’t have to put living with a real grizzle bear on her bucket list, because she used to be my roommate.

5. Emjay Meesh Pelchat doesn’t have a blog yet, because she’s too busy hulahooping and spinning fire. But she should put the flames down and get one since she’s hilarious and we want to read her words. In the meantime, if she takes up the challenge, I’ll post her response here.

6. Jessica from Jessica on a Journey. Of all the women travel bloggers, Jessica has the most impressive beard. She treats it with the finest herbs and oils.