Shaving again

I did it again. I obeyed the provision which requires me to remove a part of my body in the morning to present a view of myself which I consider to be presentable to others. There is a lot of thinking which went into this. For instance:

1) My wife likes my face to be smooth. I love my wife. I want my wife to love me in return. I want to be loved. My wife is the most accepted person to provide this love.

2) It is a common thing for men of my age and place in this culture to shave in the morning. I wish to fit in to my culture to a certain extent. My place in this culture provides the potential for survival. The culture in which I find myself provides sustenance and self-image. I want to survive. I want to have a self-image which satisfies me. I shave in order to survive.

3) When I became twelve years old or so, my beard grew to an extent that it became adviseable for me to begin shaving my beard on a regular basis. Shaving was something which my father did. The accoutraments of shaving were all over my father's bathroom. I wanted my father's love. I wanted to emulate my father. I shaved in order to emulate my father. I shave because my father shaved. I shave in pursuit of my father's love.

4) As a male human grows, hair begins to grow on his body. Some of this hair is left to grow in a wild disorder of hirsute growth. Other hair is shaved or cut. I am not sure why some hair is allowed to grow and other hair is shaved. Different cultures and different times in the growth of society have dictated which and how much hair needs to be removed. How much hair is allowed to grow dictates your place and time in culture. I shave my beard hair to place myself in position in my culture. I am a clean-shaven man. Many people like me because I am clean-shaven. I seek their love.

5) When I was in college I grew my beard twice. I had a good beard which was reddish brown. I looked like many of my heroes in history: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, JEB Stuart, Jesus. However, growing a beard in college was a sign of rebellion and self-promotion. In some sense, it was a way to say: Look at me; fear me. However, my desire for love required me to shave my face and seek love from others who did not like bearded faces and rebellion. This probably says more about what I appreciate and what I desire. What would have happened if I had found someone who loved me with a beard? What kind of person would that have been? Would I be happier now?

6) When I was younger, the City of Griffin celebrated its 150th birthday. As part of this celebration, men in Griffin were asked to grow beards and mustaches. Many did. I grew a mustache. It was a nice mustache and looked good on my face. As soon as the celebration was over, I shaved it off. Some did not. My wife did not like the mustache. I shaved it for her. I shaved it for her love.

7)When I began shaving at or around the age of twelve, on my birthday that year, my parents gave me a razor and two bottles of aftershave. We celebrated my birthday at a motel on the beach in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. At the end of that weekend, we flew back to Atlanta on an Eastern jet. When we departed the jet I bumped into Michelle Chatham, a young girl about a year younger than myself. As we bumped into each other she apparently caught a sent of my after shave. The pheromones were apparently working because she stopped and stared at me. This was perhaps the first moment of sexual tension I had ever experienced. Just another good reason for shaving and a hell of a reason for after shave.

Here I am, clean shaven, married, loved by my parents, wife and daughter. What would my life be with facial hair? Without shaving?