{"id":65688,"date":"2017-10-28T14:27:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T19:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=65688"},"modified":"2021-06-02T21:36:27","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T02:36:27","slug":"manvotional-boy-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manly-lessons\/manvotional-boy-cant\/","title":{"rendered":"Manvotional: The Boy Who Can’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vintage<\/a><\/p>\n

“The Boy Who Can’t”
\nFrom Boy’s Life<\/em>, c. 1920
\nBy F. J. P.<\/h3>\n

Hey, fellows, come closer, let each of us name
\nThe worst kind of nuisance \u2013 we\u2019ll call it a game.
\n\u201cI vote for the fellow who\u2019s never on time!\u201d
\n\u201cThe fellow who always would borrow a dime!\u201d
\n\u201cThe chap who takes pleasure in starting a fight!\u201d
\n\u201cThe geezer, while camping, who snickers all night!\u201d
\nYes, those pests are terribly trying, I grant,
\nBut I\u2019ll cast my vote for the fellow who “can\u2019t.”<\/p>\n

He can\u2019t rig a fish-pole, he can\u2019t take a hike,
\nHe can\u2019t cook a flapjack or tinker his bike,
\nHe can\u2019t learn to signal, he can\u2019t do first aid,
\nCan\u2019t do without candy or pink lemonade,
\nCan\u2019t follow a trail and can\u2019t lace up his shoe,
\nCan\u2019t do a blamed thing that you want him to do!
\nOh, boy, I\u2019d be happy if I could but plant
\nA swift kick on the rear of the fellow who can\u2019t!<\/p>\n

He can\u2019t get his grammar or spelling or math,
\nCan\u2019t split his kindling, he can\u2019t take a bath,
\nHe can\u2019t help his mother, he can\u2019t use his head;
\nCan\u2019t rise in the morning and can\u2019t go to bed,
\nHe can\u2019t find his collar, he can\u2019t tie his tie \u2013
\nHe never knows what he could do if he\u2019d try \u2013
\nBut repeats all day long his monotonous chant:
\n\u201cOh, Mamma; oh, Teacher; oh, Mister, I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s great need in the world for the confident man
\nWho tackles his work with a hearty \u201cI can!\u201d
\nSo, if you would succeed and find living a joy,
\nJust learn how to do things while you are a boy;
\nFor the boy who refuses to work when he SHOULD,
\nLoses the power to work when he WOULD.
\nWeakness and softness his talents supplant,
\nAnd he finds at the test that he REALLY CAN\u2019T.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Boy Who Can’t” From Boy’s Life, c. 1920 By F. J. P. Hey, fellows, come closer, let each of us name The worst kind of nuisance \u2013 we\u2019ll call it a game. \u201cI vote for the fellow who\u2019s never on time!\u201d \u201cThe fellow who always would borrow a dime!\u201d \u201cThe chap who takes pleasure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[502,42272],"tags":[42295],"class_list":["post-65688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-manly-lessons","tag-manvotionals"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-467x280.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-320x407.jpg","aesop-tiny-cover":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-400x509.jpg","aesop-character":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-200x200.jpg","aesop-collection":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-300x300.jpg","aesop-grid-image":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy-400x509.jpg"},"yoast_head":"\n"The Boy Who Can't" Poem, From Boy's Life | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manly-lessons\/manvotional-boy-cant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manvotional: The Boy Who Can't | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“The Boy Who Can’t” From Boy’s Life, c. 1920 By F. 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Hey, fellows, come closer, let each of us name The worst kind of nuisance \u2013 we\u2019ll call it a game. \u201cI vote for the fellow who\u2019s never on time!\u201d \u201cThe fellow who always would borrow a dime!\u201d \u201cThe chap who takes pleasure […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manly-lessons\/manvotional-boy-cant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-28T19:27:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-03T02:36:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2017\/09\/boy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"467\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"594\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7b087556bf906b866d7fe5e2d01e602\"},\"headline\":\"Manvotional: The Boy Who Can’t\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-28T19:27:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-03T02:36:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":345,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/content.artofmanliness.com\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/boy.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Manvotionals\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Character\",\"Manly Lessons\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2017\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"The Boy Who Can't\\\" Poem, From Boy's Life | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/content.artofmanliness.com\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/boy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-28T19:27:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-03T02:36:27+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/character\\\/manly-lessons\\\/manvotional-boy-cant\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/content.artofmanliness.com\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/boy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/content.artofmanliness.com\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/boy.jpg\",\"width\":467,\"height\":594,\"caption\":\"A sad-looking boy, circa 1950. 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