What is it that makes a man? There is his politeness, his tact, his intelligence, his physique, his looks, his dress, and what else? There is something that stands above the rest; it is his beard. The beard is a sign of the man’s strength, maturity, wisdom, and his authority. Dating back to long past days, the beard has presented itself as this sign. Many great men of authority have had this sign. Men such as Lincoln, both Grant and Lee, Moses, Odysseus, the infamous Samson, and even the Greek god Zeus sported this trophy.
This past month was dubbed National Beard Month in celebration of this show of manliness. Men around the nation have been showing off their prize, seeing who can grow the thickest, fullest, and longest beard of them all in this small period of time. Even at our school, a select group of students had been growing or had previously grown their beard for this month-long celebration. But the month has past, and some of those people have shaved. Yet, there are still the few that have remained strong and are forever proud of there hairiness.
Still, these people have no comparison to the men have grown there beard, not for the celebration, not for any request, but for themselves. But what does it take to grow a beard? It takes strength, patience, and determination. Well, not really strength, and not so much determination either; I just put those things in there so the sentence would sound really important. It does take a lot of patience, though. For the students who have grown their beards, I admire them for their patience.
We cannot just acknowledge the students, though. We must remember the teachers who have had their beard so long that it has shaped their face. Teachers like John Boschung, William Jones, Robert Miller, and the famous Jack Sallee were the forerunners that have been kind of a influence to the bearded students to our school. But where did their influences come from? I went around and questioned these famous furry faces about their prizes.
John Boschung had a very interesting story of why he grew his. It was America’s
bicentennial celebration, and people were growing beards to show their patriotism.
When his wife asked him to shave it, he politely said that he was showing his
patriotism. Besides that, they all had normal reasons for growing it: defiance,
wanting to try it, or just plain laziness.
Of course the beard-grower would be met by plenty of opposition from the fairer sex, but he remains strong because he is at one with his beard. Often, when this opposition is met, it is met with a fierce resistance, but do not think ill of him. I cannot find the words that describe the way a man feels about his beard. Separating a man from his beard is like stealing his soul. Please, understand that if a man loses his beard, it is like he loses his closest friend, so of course he will be uninviting to any discontent towards his beard.
Article prepared for web by:Harley Savage
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