The Platoon Advantage

Every morning, when The Boy gets up from his nightly slumber, he and his father stumble down the stairs at Casa de Common to make breakfast (and coffee for The Uncommon Wife) and to watch The Boy's favorite show, Sesame Street. Of particular interest to The Boy is a small, red, furry monster who has taken over the final 20 minutes of Sesame Steet in the days since The Common Man was but a common lad.

Indeed, Elmo is a constant presence at The Common Man's house. He's on the TV and The Boy's feet (in slipper form) every morning; his effervecent giggles and tones are heard reverborating through the house at various times during the day, as the boy tickles his Tickle Me Elmo and squeezes his programmable, child-specific, Elmo supercomputer doll; and in various volumes and tomes of Sesame-related reading. Along the way, The Common Man has managed to acquire a fairly decent Elmo-impression.

Anyway, the creative team behind the Elmo phenomenon has brought tremendous joy to The Boy and, transitively, to his parents who get to watch him sing "la, la, la, la, Elmo's World" every morning. And The Common Man is appreciative. And surprised. With a little digging, The Common Man was incredibly amused to find out that the voice and the hand behind Elmo is this man, actor and puppeteer Kevin Clash.

And so, Kevin Clash is this week's Beacon of Manhood. This is a man who goes to work every day, and willingly talks in this voice. All to amuse millions of tiny little people. Sure, he's presumably made millions of dollars for it, but for choosing to abuse his masculinity in the service of others he deserves additional compensation. This is a man who must have big bronze...self confidence...to be so comfortable in his manhood.