The ladies were away from the “3rd Hour of Today” table this morning, December 17. For Dylan Dreyer, the due date for her second son is drawing near, and Sheinelle Jones was probably jingling up some holiday cheer in one of her notable moms’ segments, or maybe having a morning off to see a Christmas school program with her kids.

Whatever the case, Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and “Today’s” senior international news correspondent, Keir Simmons summoned beer and cheese to the table, rather than the sweet treats lately served by the NBC ladies. Keir Simmons quipped that American beer just doesn't have the head of foam worthy of that served at a British pub.

The subject soon changed from bar service to being emotionally open, and Keir Simmons was the first to get honest about crying.

Letting the tears go

Recent surveys suggest that from teens to middle-age, American men are redefining masculinity, and being much more open with emotions. Simmons adores his two daughters, whom he often shows off in videos and photos. “I encourage them to cry quite often,” insisted the journalist, freshly back from reporting on the Brexit dilemma in his homeland. That situation is enough to bring anyone to tears, but Keir Simmons confessed that “it has been years” since he has really cried. No matter how entrenched the “stiff upper lip” is to his heritage, he realizes that tears are healthy.

Craig Melvin is a doting dad to Delano and Sibby and described that both his son and his daughter have witnessed him in tears. “They’ve certainly seen me emote,” he divulged. “Hopefully I don't break down,” Melvin continued but praised tears as okay.

Al Roker is constantly inspired by his son, Nick, who is on the autism spectrum.

In turn, Nick has grown up surrounded by a female support system in mom, Deborah Roberts, and his two sisters. Al Roker gushed with stories of how his dad was “a very emotional man” and how Nick teaches him to be “grateful” as a father and a human. Sensitivity is truly a virtue, especially in these socially and politically divided days.

A faithful revelation

Alice Cooper is an icon in the realm of theatrical heavy-metal, and with 50 years of singing “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen” and the very sensitive ballad, “Only Women Bleed,” he has crafted and presented some horrific scenes from the stage. The man born as Vincent Furnier, however, has proclaimed for years that his persona is all part of a performance image, very different from his internal convictions. He loves putting on a show in the same way that seeing a horror movie is cathartic escapism for some audiences.

In real life, however, Cooper is a devoted man of faith, father of three, and a husband of 43 years. He often hung out with Glen Campbell on the golf course, and seeing “big brothers” Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison “all dying and 27” founding the notorious club of rock 'n roll, led Cooper to question “how am I going to survive this?”

“It was a requirement,” declares Alice Cooper regarding the drinking, drugging lifestyle of his music genre. Staying with her alcohol and drug-addicted husband couldn't be a requirement for Sheryl Cooper, who left her husband in 1983, after seven years of marriage, as a means to “get his attention” regarding the situation, as her husband elaborates. A year later, Cooper was “seeing everything more clearly” and Sheryl was willing to say “let's try this,” with some conditions.

Alice Cooper is known to say “I don't have a sponsor-- I have a Savior.” The gratitude he feels for his life, his wife and family fuels his energy and allows him to be the character he portrays once showtime arrives. He sees a lot of death metal bands “screaming at God,” and the son of a pastor sees that as a positive. “They're screaming out at Dad to help—that’s very healthy.”

Cooper has just been selected among the chosen artists to honor Aerosmith at their MusiCares tribute. He joins Foo Fighters, H.E.R., and others for the event on January 24, as reported by Variety.

Cooper has put his life to a new purpose in Phoenix, where he lives, founding the Solid Rock Teen Center. The center has been going for over seven years now, and youth from 12-20 can focus on music, dance, painting, sports, or simply positive recreation.

Alice Cooper recalls a story of one girl who listed her agenda for each day, and on last year's list came “Kill myself” as the last entry after “Afternoon classes” and “Go to the park.” She was on her way to the park when someone invited her to come to Solid Rock. The same 15-year-old is at the center “every day at three o'clock,” Cooper says, relating to the center's board that if that one girl is the difference they make, then everything “is worth it.”

Wrapping up

Alice Cooper probably doesn't include gift-wrapping as part of the programming offered at his teen center, but Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Keir Simmons all took the challenge of wrapping a gift, with not enough paper, like brave men.

The gentlemen were testing out a popular posted Internet trend showing that diagonally placing the gift box eliminates the “short paper” situation.

As pretty as it was in the demonstration, the “3rd Hour Today” guys still didn't quite measure up. Craig Melvin attributed the difficulty to the “fancy paper,” not like the rolls he has at home. All three had bare boxes showing through, but their hearts were in the right place. Santa will still know where to visit the three guys who tried, and cry, on “3rd Hour Today.”
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