Thanks for the words of encouragement. I believe that is the most important part of this forum. It takes a lot of nerve to get past the first 2 or 3 months of looking like an old homeless man in other peoples eyes.

To answer wolfscars question, my beard seems to be a little more course and to be growing/filling in faster than last time. Maybe it is because I know what to expect this time but I it does appear to be at least a week ahead of my previous beard of 2 decades ago. The grey, um blonde, hair around my chin seems to really grow fast.