Thank you, Talito, for that and for your earlier post.

Indeed it is, Larry, and it makes me glad that I sat on in before doing anything. It's taken my 49 years to learn not to be so impulsive!  

I am comfortable, for the most part, with who I am Sean and that's what helped me get through it.  Thank you.

HA!  Chuck, a Jewish cousin suggested the same thing when she saw the photo on Facebook

Thank you, Mike.  Needless to say, you too can do this, and probably sooner than you think.  I started fiddling around with braids over a year ago!

Trick, Schnauzer, and Justin, thank you guys!  I like the look too and will probably wear it like that more regularly (I just have to remember to do up three braids before bed).  I've always been jealous of guys whose beards naturally fall into ringlets.  Thanks for the suggestion about the next comp, Schnauzer, that's a great idea since I'll have no choice but to be in the category with the bog boys now, and thanks for coming out of mustache land to stop by!  Here's the avatar picture in full:

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Thank you, Dirk!  Anything to make my hammer beard buddy happy!

Wow, Ronnie, what a horrible story!  That was pretty nasty on your folks' part  - it's like stripping you of your pride .  Fortunately, I never had to deal with that from mine, at least until now when it doesn't matter.  Like you, my wife is the one whose opinion matters most and my mom has little influence any more.  Thank you for the post, and for your kind words, and please thank your wife for me too!

You're right, Dennis.  If I wear a single, low braid as I often do to just keep the beard from getting wispy I have no problem with mobility.  The problem is that if I wear a longer single braid I have to start it high-up because the sides, which I kept trimmed and tapered for so long, are not yet long enough to get pulled in unless I do so.   You can see what I mean in this ghastly, slept-in photo.  See how the sides fan out?  This low, loose braid is what I wear to bed because it's comfortable but it doesn't work for daily wear, yet.

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Thank you for that, Sly.  I agree about the generation issue, though it's interesting to see older photos of my father with a beard.  I'd like to think that were he still alive he'd like mine, though he'd tease me mercilessly and good-naturedly about it.  As you might expect, it wasn't really the South I was leaving so much as it was my family.  Being from a small town I could never be me.  I was always Opal's grandson, to Tom's son.  By the time I graduated high school I knew I needed to leave.  The Northwest is far from perfect either, but it's home now, and it comes with the added perk of no humidity!

Hey, Ivo, I know what you mean.  I felt the same way about the guys and their threads that were the old-timers here when I joined.  I have to give kplandes and triibeard a ton of credit for setting the example and they are the ones who inspired me.  Thank you for stopping by and for your very kind words.  Now, please don't be a stranger here or on other guys' threads

Ahh and  Dave, thank you both. Should you ever find yourselves in my neck of the woods you're welcome to invite yourselves over for dinner too

It was my pleasure, DoNTMOV3.  You have a very distinctive and beautiful beard.  I'm just sorry I missed it until now!  A villain, huh.  Well, that's better than you're saying I look like Santa Claus  Thanks for stopping by!

I'll close with a photo of me letting the beard free and wearing a new hat I just got from a local haberdasher.  Later this evening or tomorrow I'll post a pic from our work team's holiday party this evening, where I plan to go wearing some glass beads that rngr, a former CA here and now a friend on Facebook, sent me.smiley: smile

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Beard on, friends!
Tom


Some helpful links:
Library Central of Beard Growing


Taming the Wild Mustache
Tips for eating and drinking with a big mustache

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
A jerk with a beard is just a bearded jerk, but a bearded gentleman is awesomeness personified. ~ Triibeard
Last Edited By: Tom E Dec 4 15 5:31 PM. Edited 1 times.