Once upon a time, I used to go to Old School male barbers like other men of my vintage.
However, as my head hair follicles slowly succumbed to time, I didn’t see the point in it. So, I started shaving my head along with my face.
Once I moved to NoCo, I joined the testosterone mountain mainstream and grew a beard. It really does make those NoCo winters a bit more bearable.
Now there is also a literary reason a nice full beard comes in handy. As Michele Antunes tells us, “a full, thick facial hair style that shows the man rocking it is an adventurer, risk taker and someone who makes his own rules.”
https://beardoholic.com/ernest-hemingway-beard/
That seems to fit.
And I do my best to shamelessly evoke Hem at every opportunity (except by hunting).
But maintaining a writer’s beard is a lot more work than you would imagine.
Now, I stopped trying to groom my own beard when the fifth set of electric shears and my patience gave up. I do have one still operating set left over from Jeter – now eternally and perfectly coiffed as part of Spaghetti’s pack of McCaffrey fur family on the other side of the veil – which is made of brass and is used for sheep shearing, but I cannot master it for anything short of a baldy (no not that!).
So in those rare instances where my regular trip to Anna the Barber gets derailed, I quickly devolve into the human caricature of Yukon’s friend, Bumbles.
Yesterday was no exception, as this photo demonstrates, when I arrived at ATB.
Indeed, a whole town of fairies could have stayed warm in there for the winter.
But the intrepid Anna went right to work and an hour later she had beaten the beard back into respectability.
No doubt a similar look to Albert Anastasia’s final ride in the barber chair,
https://www.the-sun.com/news/3929118/photo-albert-anastasia-gunned-barbers-gambino
which is why I’m thankful that Anna’s front door has a bell on it.
Although I’m not sure if I would hear it, given that I spend my time while at Anna’s astrally projecting to all corners of the galaxy, and only return to my body once Anna slowly raises the chair back into sitting position.
Anyway, when I reanimated this corpus, I was thrilled to see that Anna had again successfully tamed the beast.
And put a fine coat of lipstick back on this pig.
But I cannot overstate the value of a magical barber to a bald, bearded man, especially a writer, and if you ever find yourself visiting NoCo for any reason, make sure you check out Anna if you want to experience out of this world tonsorial splendor.
You can find Anna at the Rustic Rose Beauty Lounge,
which is right next to the parking lot for the Berthoud Post Office. But you may want to call ahead and book a reservation, Anna is very much in demand, and doesn’t do walk ins.
Well, Saturday is back, and I must complete my chores.
But I am not the only creature at Casa Claire that receives a regular pampering.
This morning is Farrier day. Claire and Honey get their mani-pedis, by the ever faithful Jason Bastemeyer, Farrier to the Stars,
so we will need to engage in some strategic corralling and Mule Ringolevio over the half hour before his scheduled arrival at 9 a.m. sharp. Wish me luck.
But first, some kitties need cuddling and I have rounds to see to.
You fine, five readers get out there and finish up those weekend errands.
Then find a beach, lake, pool and barbeque to take up your afternoon and evening. You’ve earned it.
And if you find a quiet hour or two, find that magical place and read a book.
The Wise Ass Kindle version is still available for free download if you are a Prime Member.
Just don’t forget to post those reviews or, beard or not, I will never, ever, ever catch Hem on this side of the veil.
But no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.
