A Beard Story

The decision for the clean-shaven look was not a decision.

About 2 years ago, I shaved off my beard.

I hadn’t been beardless for 20 years or so.

This is not my chin. No photographs of my naked face were taken.

But 2 years ago, I exposed my face with an easily avoidable trimming incident that made me feel like an idiot. A beardless idiot. 

My kids had never seen my chin. I had a beard when I proposed to my wife and when I said, "I do".

My family was gonna ask, “Why?”

If ever there was a time for spin, this was it. 

When we do something potentially embarrassing, such as an inept attempt at facial hair trimming (which until that day I had done successfully a few times a week for a couple of decades), we want to tell the story -- or spin it -- in a way that puts us in the best light. 

Spin Doctor sez: I meant to do that.

I'm glad I don't have to do that in my family.

When they asked, I told 'em the truth: That I forgot to put the attachment on my beard trimmer and had carved a hairless swath from just under my left nostril to the center of my jawline.

Unfixable.

No choice but to continue until my face was fully exposed. To the elements. To the eyes of both friends and strangers.

What about the spin?

I have neither the time nor the appetite for that bullshit. 

There were some laughs at my expense. I couldn't help laughing, too.

It took a couple of weeks for the beard to grow back (I’m a hirsute fellow).

So, the beard is back.

And I’ve been less cavalier with my trimmer.

_________________________

This post was partly inspired by one of the coolest beards in the business: the one that occupies the chin of Bryce Main who wrote: Does Having a Beard Make Me a Better Writer?

Bryce Main