It would be my pleasure to treat you to a martini wherever and whenever we meet, gato.  There's no better mustache fertilizer, by the way

Walkman, great to hear from you again!  You're right, back then I had planned to keep a Ben Bernanke style beard.  After spending time on this board, though, I came to realize that a bigger beard was calling me, I just didn't know what 'bigger' would eventually mean!  Happy bearding, indeed!

Alberto, you always leave me at a loss for words.  Thank you for that.  I've had the honor to know many truly wonderful people in my life and I strive to emulate them.

Well, let's put it this way, Mando, I haven't conducted an experiment where I've laid off the occasional martini to see if it changes my beard growth, so I've no idea on that topic, but I can say with confidence that a big beard has the capacity to keep a lot of martini drips off my shirt  Thank you!

Larry, I doubt you'll be a paler version by any means, unless you're suggesting you're going grey faster than I  I remember making that prediction and I must say that it's held true more than I expected!  Thankfully you've eschewed the side trims that I mistakenly continued for far too long.  Your beard looks beautiful and full because of it!  That's too bad about the knitting, but there's still time

Thank you, Joris!  When I was at your stage I had no idea I'd ever let it get this long either, so we'll see.  You certainly have what it takes to grow a whopper of a beard!  I have a feeling that yours is a thread I'll be visiting often, sir.

Hey, thanks for that, JNC!  I have to agree with you about being meant to be bearded.  I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure it out!

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I've had a few interesting beard-related things come up lately that I wanted to share.  First, while dining at a sushi restaurant with my wife this weekend I took a bite of a lovely sushi roll topped with tobiko (flying fish roe), those beautiful tiny black gems of yumminess.  I placed a piece in my mouth and savored it!  My wife, sitting across the table from me, looked up and practically guffawed!  Apparently many of those little gems had fallen off and careened, unbeknownst to me, down my beard, leaving a trail of little, shiny black beads the length of my beard and the braid I was wearing.  The person serving our table walked by about that time and just smiled and said, "Don't worry we find those things everywhere, but seeing them in a beard is a first."  Sigh.  I had to excuse myself to the men's room and undo the braid to completely extract the little buggers.

This morning I went to see a dermatologist.  As he came into the exam room he extended his hand to greet me and said, "Hi, I'm beard, um, I mean Brad."    I figured it must be a good beard day so I snapped a selfie when I got home:

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As I've said before, this is my daily wear style these days and is how I showed up at the office.

Finally, I've been rather disappointed that my beard hasn't seemed to gain any length for a while.  Yes, I know I should just let it grow and not worry about it but that's easy advice to give and hard advice to follow ! smiley: eyes  Well, I found the following hair laying on my computer keyboard this morning and, if this is any indication, my beard's getting kinkier as it gets older!  This little guy is only 11.5 cm as he lays naturally yet he stretches to 29.5 cm!  At this point if I experience another drop my beard may well start polishing my belt buckle

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Happy Bearding, boys!
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 Feb 10 16 12:54 AM. Edited 1 times.