GrayBeard, Dinosaurs, And Good Grooming

It was just one of those little things that happen at a good meal. Comments—you know, we all share them. It really didn't mean anything, other than the fact that it did give me a moment to think.

I was having lunch with a very, very close female friend and we've kind of, as they say, grown old together. We've been the best of friends for 25-27 years. We're in this restaurant, and she looks around and there was a bunch of people that look to be about our age, and we're both youthful looking. (At least we think so.)

Her comment to me, it was, "Honey I'm so glad that you keep your face clean-shaven." Now, that's a preference. I know that. It's not important.

Then she went on to say, "Because these other men look so old." I looked around at the others in our close environment, and they all had gray hair, and a lot of 'em weren't even keeping their physical trimming and habits in good shape.

I just said, "Yeah, you know, they just won't learn, they're dinosaurs!" In other words, facial hair that's young and looks well-trimmed is good. Facial hair that's untrimmed makes you look older, I guess, that's bad.

But just the joke about it, the act of us calling them dinosaurs, made me think, "Well, yeah, there are lot of things in our lives that we do that we don't even think about." Unexamined things.

Those guys—do you think they ever dreamed about cutting their beards off? Well, probably not. How do I know this? Because from about the age of 15 to about the age of 55 I had a mustache. Never thought about it. Then one day, I woke up and cut it off.

And it's probably the same thing with them. They've got the same thing going, and they just haven't realized that things are not what they were. Refusing to adapt—it's the dinosaur syndrome. In our own lives, we need to work with consciousness.

We need to examine everything we do. As Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." In my case, I told her, "Duh, take the advice of a woman, take the advice of someone who can see better than you." There are always people like that, and they're always easy to encounter.

And whatever you do, man, if you're getting up there around 55-56 years old, consider your beard! You know, there's a very famous character, and he's not called Graybeard—he's called Blackbeard!

No kidding – we’re talking about normal business grooming here… It’s just a joke to banter with Greybeard and Blackbeard… But your personal grooming habits – male or female – are not a joking matter. You are judged by how you present yourself. Be strategic here, too.