I hope you are all having a good holiday! If you don't celebrate a holiday today, then I hope you had a nice non-holiday day!

Sorry I haven't blogged lately, been real busy earning a living. I'll try to get some new stuff up soon.

Random Beard Compliment this week:
While shopping at the H.E.B for Christmas eve snacks, a teenager walked by and just said "Epic Beard". Glad to see the younger generation can appreciate The Beard!


That's all for now.

Happy thanksgiving! hope you're all spending a wonderful day with loved ones. If you work for one of the idiotic companies that's open today, I'm boycotting them all! 

Turkey-day beard tips: Bring a comb to remove crumbs from beard after the meal and use napkins no one looks good with gravy in their beard. For those with very long beards, consider hair ties or braids to keep it out of your way and out of the food.

     Lately there has been lots of discussion about beards in the workplace online. I dislike discrimination against my bearded brothers. If you have a well groomed beard of any length your employer has no right to make you shave it off.... unless its for safety/health reasons.

    OSHA regulations for jobs that require respirators are in place for good reasons. A beard, even a short one can break the seal between the face and mask causing dangerous chemicals to be breathed in. If you work in an industry that requires masks, Please follow the regulations or look for a new job. Your beard is not worth your life. 
    Some jobs require beard and hair nets, like food service industry. some in this industry make even restrict beards altogether. Again this is for health and safety. Do you want to eat someones hair in your lunch? Didn't think so and no one wants to eat your hair either. If you work in the food service industry and your being asked to shave, ask about wearing a beard net. Grainger supply sells them.

If your company is against beards for any reason other than Health/Safety feel free to debate their policies. Debate, not argue.. There is a difference. Ask them why they have the policy.  You can research some facts and present a mature, logical case as to why they should change the policy. show them other companies in the same industry that do not have facial hair restrictions. Point out the Boston Red Sox! 
   if all this fails, look into changing jobs.

I am fortunate in working for a company that does not have facial hair policies. I work as a delivery driver at a large Home improvement store.(I don't wear Orange!!) I get compliments about my beard all the time.  My previous employers also had no restrictions ( I was previously in the party rental industry). I've never seen any sign in my decade plus of bearding that my facial hair gave people any negative feelings regarding my ability to do my job. Its an old fashioned belief that Beards=lazy,untrustworthy,dirty etc etc. Many of us work hard to continue to disprove silly myths like that.  Beards teach Patience and goal setting and these are invaluable traits for an employee to have!.


Enough ranting for today, Hope you enjoyed!


Here's my Beard quote for this week:
A man without a beard is like bread without a crust.
--Lithuanian Proverb

Questions I often hear about The Beard.

Q: Does it itch? 
A: Yes like any hair it does itch on occasion. But with proper care it no worse than the occasional itch I feel on my head. I use Head and shoulders on my beard about once a month, it helps a lot with itchiness,

Q: You gonna shave that in the summer/is that uncomfortable in the heat?A: No.  I currently live in South Texas where summertime averages 102 in the shade and It doesn't seem to change how hot it feels. It actually helps keep sweat flowing off my face, which should cool me off better. whether it does or not is debatable.

Q: is it soft?A: Most of the Time Yes its very soft. I Brush/comb,condition etc. I like to have a Beard my wife wants to touch and snuggle with. Though I have noticed exposure to cement dust makes it very coarse. This happened to me last week while having some work done on my home.  Very gross feel. I used my go to Moisturizing conditioner to fix it up.

Q: Do you watch Duck Dynasty?A: I have. Its not a "bad" show and I like the family values shown. But, I am getting tired of hearing about it. I've had a full beard since way before that show and it has nothing to do with them. I am polite to the occasional person who shouts duck dynasty at me from across a parking lot, But I would prefer it to stop.


If you have any questions, comments, etc Please email me and I'll post an answer by this evening.

As you can see the Beard had its humble origins in a simple goatee and very short 'stash. These are from February and March of 2009. Even back then people complimented it frequently. It was a sign of things to come. Back then I was living in Delaware, working in the party rental business and nights as a karaoke DJ. Now I'm living in South Texas which is a whole different world. One thing has not changed respect for The Beard. Its amazing that something that comes so naturally for me can be so amazing to others.

I had a very busy day so i'll just post an observation. It is not OK to compliment my beard while I'm standing at a urinal. This breaks so many rules I won't even try to list them. Just very awkward, please don't do it. 


Here's another  Beard Prove
It is merry in hall when beards wag all.
--French Proverb

Yesterdays post has produced lots of positive feedback. Thank you for commenting and messaging me about my post. It makes me very happy to hear that others are also bothered by this trend. It is far too pervasive in our society, extending beyond the Beard related issues I discussed yesterday. I see similar things all over the internet. Racism,sexism and general hate mongering everywhere. It's very sad that we use this amazingly powerful tool to bash people instead of learning about and connecting with people. I feel that the lack of mature, gentlemanly role models is at least one of the causes to blame. I try to lead by example and ask all those who want to help to do the same. Pick your cause and do all you can to spread the word. to quote one of my favorite movies "there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men" --Boondock Saints.  Do not be indifferent, stand up and tell those who do nothing but spread negativity to go away. If we all work together we can make a difference.

Special thanks to Gary from T.S.O.B.G. for sharing his thoughts on this topic and helping me spread the word. 

Here's a Beard proverb for Today: 
Every man is the king of his own beard.
--Persian Proverb

as always, email or message me if you have a good quote to share or if there is a topic you'd like me to write about.

I have the terrible feeling that, because I am wearing a white beard and am sitting in the back of the theatre, you expect me to tell you the truth about something. These are the cheap seats, not Mount Sinai.  --Orson Welles

I have noticed a recent trend that bothers me greatly. I call it beard bashing. I don't mean people without beards belittling beard growers. I mean people WITH beards bashing others for not having them, not having a big enough beard, braiding or styling their beards, only having a mustache, etc, etc.
This kind of behavior is appalling. Why do some people feel they can tell others what they should or shouldn't do with their own bodies? The people doing this would be livid if someone told them they grew their beards wrong or that beards are wrong, But feel that it is acceptable to bash, belittle and insult others for making a similar choice. If you don't like it, don't do it. simple as that, and if you haven't got something nice to say don't say anything at all. 

I go to great lengths to encourage and support people in whatever they endeavor to accomplish. Compliments cost you nothing but can be worth more than gold to others.

I know this post is a bit ranty but I feel very strongly about this. Men who grow beards like to talk about how manly they are, well real men don't need to insult others. They can accept that others are allowed to make their own choices. They should be Gentleman.

Over the years of growing my facial hair I have learned many life lessons from The Beard.

Patience:    This is an obvious one. I have learned to wait for good things to come about in their own time. Some things just can't be rushed.


Tolerance:    Sometimes The Beard gets itchy or very unkempt looking. It can be like a nagging neighbor, pushy boss or that guy that cut you off on the way to work. You have to learn to see things from another point of view.My beard just needs conditioning or a good brushing, its trying to communicate. That naggy neighbor thinks their being helpful, Your boss just wants the company to do good, and that guy driving crazy... Maybe he's heading to the hospital for the birth of a child. 


Perseverance:   Following through, despite setbacks will reward you greatly in life. 

The Joy of making new friends:  Everywhere I go people ask about The Beard. This leads to conversations with people I never would have had a chance to learn about. New friends are awesome! whether the friendship lasts a lifetime or just while you're in the checkout line.

these are just a few of the Lessons from The Beard.

Keep on following for more!