Talk about a "man-cave"...

I have this friend at work whom I commute with in an effort to make the one hour drive (each way) a little cheaper for all of us. His name is Mark, and he's the sort of guy you guys would love... level headed, honest to a fault, fond of his brew and smokes, and a solid dealer for someone that has only been doing it since June.

So, we're driving home tonight, and discussing the coming winter storm that is slated to hit the area tonight. 3" to 6" inches of snow by sunrise, followed by a very heavy bout of freezing rain which will leave as much as 3/4 of an inch of ice on unprotected surfaces. He mentions that as soon as he drops me off, he has to turn back and go to Scranton to pick up his Jeep from his "shop". I tell him that crazy... just swap the vehicles now while we are on the way there. I don't mind being a few minutes late home, and neither does Liz.

So we stop at his shop...

Holy Mary, Mother of Christmas! The thing is a 40' by 40' steel building, with a huge (12' high?) rolling steel door. We enter through a side door, and here is a massive room that easily holds two vintage Corvettes (his brother's), his Jeep, a full-sized Ford pickup with a plow, a 1972 Jeep Wrangler (also vintage, and Mark's pride and joy). Outside of this "parking area" he also has a complete kitchenette, with fridge, table, chairs, two sinks, a fridge and a really good stereo system (all it was missing, in fact, was a stove). There was a beautiful tiled bathroom with a shower, all under a loft office that had an oak desk, leather chair, hide-a-bed couch, and a big screen TV. On the other wall was a big wood-burning furnace (with glass door) fronted by two HUGE easy chairs that Mark and his father use to enjoy their coffee on cold mornings.

Yes, there were some tools and equipment in the corners... a grinder here, a compressor there... but I am telling you straight up, if I had this "shop" as my own... Liz and the kids would NOT see a lot of me. I mean DAMN... all the comforts of home, with plenty of room (sans the Corvettes and other vehicles, which I'd never own anyway) for a pool table, a bar, a stove (and a microwave) and more comfy couches and chairs.

That's my kind of shop... I'll have to think about how I'm going to get mine that nice.