Mustache wars

Mustache Wars

The mustache wars began sometime before common sense and wisdom. There were these men in black who decided that everyone should look the same. Like them. Black suits with shiny shoes. This was back 20 or so years ago. I remember it well. I watched as men from all over the globe got the word from the suits. Almost overnight, mustaches and beards were gone. It was sometimes hard to recognize people I had known for years. There they were, all dressed in suits and shiny shoes. All traces of facial hair, gone.

I have had a beard for over 20 years. I used to be a Blackbeard, now I am a graybeard. I see a lot of graybeard’s like me. They seem to be everywhere. Maybe because I am one. Look around, you’ll see what I mean. I have never liked to shave. It was a no brainer for me to grow a beard. Once a week I trim around the edges and presto, all done.

I watched a movie called the Point. It was a kids movie written by Harry Nilsson. Every one in the movie had a point on the top of his head, except for one person. He was banned from the town and wandered the country side trying to figure out why he was so different.  Finally he came across others like him. No one had a point in this town. And that is the point of the movie. 

When the word came from the suits to cut all facial hair, I chuckled. Here they go again. Old men dictating to younger men what they should wear and how they should comb their hair. The hair wars ... that is another story. 

I have watched over the years as trends and fashions change. It is a never ending drama of the old and the new.

Throughout history there have been men like me. Men who hate to shave. Famous men too. Jesus, he didn’t like to shave. Moses? He didn’t like to shave either. The old history books are full of men like me who didn’t like to shave. 

I discovered an interesting fact about these men in black. They are the ones who benefit most from the wars that they create. They own the factories that build the bombs. They own the factories that make the the suits. They own the shiny shoes factory. They own the funeral homes that charge the big dollars to secure a safe place in the ground. They are also responsible for all the deaths in these wars.

I had a revelation a few years ago. It was a giant curtain with a sign pinned on the front. It said, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” I have seen many curtains over the years, and there are always people lined up to pay the man.

Remember the Wizard of Oz? Yeah, me too. Good movie, great message. I got it the first time I saw it. The movie used to play every year, it was an annual event in my family. We gathered around the TV and watched together with popcorn and soda’s.

I guess there are people still trying to understand that movie. Figure out the plot. It is a simple one. All the kids see that man behind the curtain.

The mustache wars? The mustache’s are returning. The graybeards like myself have found the wisdom of not paying any attention to those men in black with their shiny shoes. The black suits still pull the ropes and rattle their chains but I don’t pay them any attention. I know sooner or later everyone will get the message of another movie and see there is no point.