I remember looooong time ago hearing a phrase something along the lines that a man in his life time should “Plant a Tree take a Wife and raise a Son” Don’t know if that is the exact phrase as it was a long time ago but certainly something similar.
Any one know where the phrase comes from and is it correct. It seems like the kind of thing one of the great philosophers like Confucius would have said.
I’m quite sure that I’ve heard it was the three things Ernest Hemmingway said were necessary to be a man (or do before you died, I forget which).
Well I’m pretty much screwed then.
There was actually a fourth thing: fight a bull to the death. AFAIR. Not something most people are likely to do these days, unless one wanders into the middle of the freeway.
But it was definitely “to be a man”, not before you die.
I thought you were supposed to plant a tree, write a book and have a son.
Shucks! While I have great respect for Ernest Hemingway and his writing talents I really thought the phrase was some ancient philosophers wise words.
Write a book is good but don’t like the kill a bull bit. 
But was it original to Hemingway? I remember a similar line in one of Agatha Christie’s Harley Quinn stories. I think it was The Man from the Sea (spoiler warning: linked article gives the plot of the short story). That collection (The Mysterious Mr. Quin) was first published in 1930, so the idea might have been something that was floating around at that time.
Not kill a bull, fight a bull to the death. It doesn’t say whose.
Because sometimes, señor, the bull doesn’t lose. 
Reminds me of this song, which combines the life cycles of trees and men, from The Wicker Man ('73):
“Summerisle (The Maypole Song)” lyrics
In the woods there grew a tree
A fine, fine tree was he
On that tree there was a limb
And on that limb there was a branch
On that branch there was a nest
And in that nest there was an egg
In that egg there was a bird
And from that bird a feather came
Of that feather was a bed
On that bed there was a girl
And on that girl there was a man
From that man there was a seed
And from that seed there was a boy
From that boy there was a man
And for that man there was a grave
From that grave there grew a tree
In Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle
On that tree there was a limb
And on that limb there was a branch
On that branch there was a nest
And in that nest there was an egg
In that egg there was a bird
And from that bird a feather came
Of that feather was a bed
In Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle, Sumerisle
On that bed there was a girl (Sumerisle, Sumerisle)
And on that girl there was a man (Sumerisle, Sumerisle)
From that man there was a seed (Sumerisle, Sumerisle)
And from that seed there was a boy (Sumerisle, Sumerisle)
From that boy there was a man (Sumerisle, Sumerisle)
And for that man there was a grave
From that grave there grew a tree
BTW, the choreography of that song is supposed to be vaguely ominous, as well as disturbing (for the way the young boys are frankly sexual)…
And now you’ve got me thinking of the happiness list. It starts, “If you want to be happy for a minute . . (do X)” and works up to happy for the rest of your life. I think getting married get you a happy month.
I checked Google. There are a few different lists out there. Here’s one:
If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap;
if you want to be happy for a day, go fishing;
if you want to be happy for a week, take a vacation;
if you want to be happy for a month, get married;
if you want to be happy for a year, inherit a fortune;
if you want to be happy for the rest of your life, help other people.
Other lists got you a minute for a kiss, a life for helping the disabled, etc.
I thought it was
“If you want to be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife”
Which reminds me:)
A tourist is in Spain, and goes to a fancy restaurant for dinner. As he looks around, he notices a diner being served a beautifully garnished dish with two gigantic meatballs in the middle. When the waiter asks him for his order, the man asks him about the meatball dish. The waiter explains that the meatballs are bull’s testicles, and when the bull loses the bullfight, the bull is brought to the restaurant, and this beautiful dish is made.
The diner tells the waiter that he wants the bulls testicles for dinner, but the waiter tells him that only one bull a day is brought to the restaurant, but he can have it tommorrow. The diner agrees. The next day the diner goes to the restaurant, and orders the testicle dish. When his food is brought out, he notices that the meatballs are extremely small. He mentions this to the waiter, and the waiter replies, ‘‘Well sir you have to understand, sometimes the bull wins’’.
Plant a Tree take a Wife and raise a Son
As Meatloaf said, two out of three ain’t bad. I’ve got Mrs. J. and I’ve planted a helluva lot of trees.
If I was going to be nasty towards Hemingway, I’d say that killing oneself isn’t so very manly. Instead I’ll just note that in some ways he was an ass.