So, as many of you readers who might actually know me personally are aware, I have been growing beard for the past couple of weeks. (Side note: That is NOT me in the pic at the bottom of the last post. Some readers were confused. That's my homey, Tony posing with Thew. Thew had a beard for awhile, but couldn't hang. What a puss ...) It is coming in nicely, I must say. Not fully there yet, but a work in progress. Eventually I'll probably shave it down to something ridiculous like a Fu Manchu moustache (ala Chopper Read, see right) which I will wear for awhile until the novelty factor wears thin, at which point I will either pare it down further into just a moustache (making me appear as if I really should work in the Mission District) or shave it off altogether.Aside from the implicit fun of growing new facial hair and sculpting it to ridiculous configurations, there is the family irk factor involved in my scruffy merriment. I am not, by nature, a guy who embraces the holidays. In fact, for the first 16 or so years of my life I spent the holidays alone and well, became accustomed to that. Of course, life changes and now I have all these familial and friendly obligations to fulfill in association with these otherwise arbitrary days. I struggled against this tide for awhile, but last year tried a new tack: I totally got into the holiday spirit. My life was kind of topsy-turvy at the time, so a new approach was warranted. Lo and behold! It made the holidays not so bad. In fact, I rather enjoyed them. The following Spring sucked, but that's another story for another post ...
But yeah -- back to beards. So I now have these familial and friendly obligations (i.e. parties and get-togethers) to attend which means we're more or less in public and/or with relatives that we haven't seen (and won't see again) for a long time. That being said, certain members of my family happen to be a little more "old fashioned" than others. By old fashioned I mean that they think men should not step out of the house in anything less than a shirt and tie, and wearing a beard is only acceptable once you hit 40+ or you are a college Professor (whichever comes first). So my beard is an instant nag magnet to these individuals. A younger, lesser (and cleaner shaven) me might be put off by this, but today's Wes just rolls with it. In fact, I am integrating it as part of my overall theme of embracing the holidays. (Santa theme?) I realize the very juvenile aspect of deriving pleasure from peeving your family, but please recognize that I am growing the beard for my own pleasure and any enjoyment I derive from irritating members of my immediate family with it is secondary to me asserting my individual right over my body. Yeah. Grr! Beards! Stay tuned for interesting stories and perhaps some photos ...
