The beard-off continues, but tomorrow the contest enters a whole new level. There is a period in the growth of every beard that could be called some sort of transition phase. There is a tipping point where the beard goes from badly needing to be shaved to looking like complete shit. Usually that point occurs around day seven. This transition phase normally lasts about two weeks. Tomorrow is day seven, so for the next fourteen days my beard (and self-esteem) will be subjected to constant ridicule. I have no doubt that the personal toll will be great, but I also have no doubt that the reward will be greater. I have to be mentally prepared for complete strangers to tell me my face looks like a Frenchwoman's vagina. Readers... that's a heavy burden to bear. Not only that, but I have to be ready for the constant, crushing self-doubt that comes with waking up, looking in the mirror, and realizing that no woman would sleep with a man whose face has the texture of a cat's tongue. My only comfort is the knowledge that I now walk the same path as Lincoln, Norris, Kenobi and other great, beard-wearing men. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. So I will suffer the slings and arrows, because a beard isn't a fashion decision, it's a lifestyle.
"Baby sister, I was born game and I intend to go out that way." John Wayne as Marshal Rooster Cogburn, True Grit (1969)
1 comment:
There is another transition that starts at about this time, and that is when the beard starts to itch. Once you can power through that, you'll be set.
Post a Comment