That’s a hilarious image, Yank!  Now, we could complete the undersea menagerie if we could get Triibeard’s dyslexic albino sea lion in on it too   I think you’re a lot closer to the ZZ Top imagine than you may think, too.  All you need are the dark shades :smoking  Thanks for the idea of the beard sling, too.  That may be just what I need!

Thank you, birdbeard!  I do enjoy wearing that big, lose braid and I’m glad so many people like the look.  If you start letting yours grow out instead of cutting it you can wear it that way too for your 50th birthday.  It’s a great place to store all those double-point needles  

Thanks, bb!  It actually doesn’t take much patience – I am not a very patient person, I’m afraid – it just takes a few adjustments, all of them worth it, IMHO.  See below for another upcoming adjustment

TradMark, you can start braiding pretty soon, I think, perhaps even now (at least a small one).  If you look back a couple of years in my journey to June of 2014 you’ll see that I started braiding it then, and I was at about your length, I think!  Thank you for those kind words, sir!

Thanks, jraider!

A big beard definitely isn’t for everyone, Don, and if I can do my part to help guys live the big bearded life vicariously I’m all for it.  It’s purely for altruistic reasons, of course, with no person pleasure involved   Thanks for the birthday wish!  That was a gin martini, wasn’t it?

Oh, man, Trick, the thought of a hammock and get my beard caught in the ropes makes my face hurt   Then again maybe I could just dangle it through one of the gaps.  Thank you for the compliment and the birthday wishes my fellow 1966er.  It was a very good year indeed!  Now, get yourself a new job and get growing again so I can see your big beard masterpiece!

Oh, they aren’t as scary as I make them out to be, Dave, at least most of them aren’t (see below for clarification).  As I said, it all worth it! 

Thank you, Sergey!  Now you've answered Karl's and Dave's question

Now, it’s been an eventful week. 

First, as I mentioned before, I spent the last weekend of my 40s at a friend’s house doing, among other thing, loads of cooking.  He has the same high-intensity professional gas range that I do so we have a blast cooking together.  With a high-speed range its live, open, intense flame comes the risk of catching things on fire and I’ve been worried that someday it would happen to my beard and, well, yep, it happened last Sunday.  As I leaned over the stove to crab something I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye.  I was scared to look down for a few seconds but then the unmistakable stench of burning hair wafted up and I looked down to see that several of the longest hairs in my beard had gotten singed.  Fortunately it wasn’t much and I don’t think I lost an overall length, but I learned my lesson.  I’ll start tucking the beard inside the apron even if it’s braided, as it was then.  That was a close call!

The other big event was, or more correctly is, as Sergey just let on, my 50th birthday, which is today.  It’s been a wonderful week of celebrating with close friends and family.  It's been a great ride so far, so here’s to another half-century!  

Cheers!

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