Extreme

Since when did I get so discriminating in my tastes?

Anymore, if you don't have facial hair (and not just a grew-it-this-weekend-goatee, but something bushy), sleeve tattoos, a shaved pate, piercings, a serious beer gut, or at least a heavy cigar habit, I probably won't give you a second look.

The other night on AOL, I was talking to this guy. He sent me his pic. He had a pretty awesome body, but there was nothing there that peaked my interest. I IMed him and said he'd look great with a beard. He replied, "I can't grow any facial hair because of my job."

"What in God's name do you do for a living that they don't allow you to have facial hair?" I asked. I never got a reply. He went away.

Yesterday, I wanted to make pancakes for the Baron and my Dad. We were out of Bisquick, and I didn't feel like doing all the measuring to make from scratch. So I ran to a little store in Gardenville to grab some Bisquick. There, waiting for a sandwich, was this... this... man. He was probably in his early twenties. A big guy, bigger than me. He had a beautiful auburn beard coming off his chin that hit right between his clavicles. Shaved head. Great tattoo work. Above his beard, below his mouth, was the stud of a piercing.

Da fuck is up with all of those Mr. Tims at the Raven? (Mr. Tim, as in, Mr. Tim's House of Hair Fashions of Manhasset. As in, couture bedecked, coiffed, cologned, low-slung italian loafer wearing... you get the picture.) Is there anyone out there who thinks that look is hot?

Idaknow. Maybe I'm in the minority. Maybe not a minority of one, but a minority of a half a dozen.

I mean, check out this guy...



What's not to like there? Absolutely nothing as far as I'm concerned. It gives me reason to live knowing that there are men like that in the world. Even though, as luck would have it, this one is in Belgium.

Maybe this urge is pretty adolescent. Maybe it's the same thing that drives those kids who hang out on St. Mark's Place. Maybe it's just a matter of Rebel Without a Clue. But c'mon. Why not be sexy? What holds you back?

Conviction.

It's all about conviction.

How can I more fully live out conviction?

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