Time to end five o'clock shadow
A male grooming trend has humor columnist Jerry Zezima bristling:
When I was in high school and was just starting to shave, which led to so much blood loss that I should have been honored by the Red Cross, I read "The Razor's Edge," the W. Somerset Maugham classic that was not -- much to my amazement, because I was a stupid kid -- about shaving.
Young men reading the book today would no doubt be similarly surprised, which is why many of them, unwilling to risk bleeding to death, barely shave at all.
Lately I have noticed that stubble is in style. Everywhere you look, there are guys with 5 o'clock shadow.
I do know that women love this look on young guys, but hate it on geezers like me.
It all started in the 1980s, on the hit TV show "Miami Vice," in which two cops played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas tracked down bad guys while wearing neon jackets and sporting three-day-old razor stubble. Since they had to solve crimes in 48 minutes, they probably didn't have time to shave.
When the show ended, so -- it seemed -- did the stubble look.
Now, scruffy guys are getting lots of face time again. It's not uncommon to see them on TV shows, in movies, in commercials, and even in magazine ads looking like they just rolled out of bed.
What gets me is that some of them are wearing suits or tuxedos. They can take all that time to get dressed to the nines, but they can't spare an extra five minutes to run a razor across their chins?
Then again, maybe they can. Recently I was in a store called the Art of Shaving and saw a trimmer that can be set to help guys keep a perpetual stubble.
I guess they do shave after all, but just not enough to prevent them from looking unkempt.
Me? I like to look kempt. My wife likes it when I do, too.
Recently I snuggled up to her on a rare day when I sported stubble. She shrieked and told me to go away. So I did. I went upstairs, foamed my face with shaving cream and used my trusty razor to smooth out the situation.
I came back downstairs and snuggled up to her again. This time she didn't tell me to go away.
Talk about a close shave!
If you need another example of the benefits of shaving, here is a clip from the James Bond film, "Skyfall":
For more info:
- jerryzezima.blogspot.com
- "The Empty Nest Chronicles: How to Have Fun (and Stop Annoying Your Spouse) After the Kids Move Out" by Jerry Zezima (iUniverse); Also available in eBook format