Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Being Bearded Bites

The concluding drama of life with my beard.

In the final series on my beard, I'm not going to talk about people like Osama, Hemmingway, and Lincoln -- that all had beards. I'm going to talk instead, about my heightened senses.

My night vision increased dramatically. I could hear high pitched noises that were driving me insane. I realized why dogs sniffed everything in sight. I even wanted to stick my bearded face out the car window at speeds of up to 90 mph.

The beard had possessed me. It had an uncontrollable grip on me.

As I was driving to visit my brother in Julian, I stopped on the side of the road. I was scratching my beard like a madman; I ripped off my shirt, with buttons flying everywhere, and ran into a canyon. I chased a gazelle 50 yards before tackling it, and devouring the thing (and wondering why people flock to Julian for the apple pie).

As I walked back to the car, dripping sweat and blood, and wiping dirt from my beard, thoughts of shaving entered my mind. I thought of Bob Geldoff in The Wall, shaving off his nipples in the bathroom. I would sooner do that, then touch my mane of redish brown beard hair.

Upon my return, I was drawn to the beach in Coronado. I jumped into the cold water, and came out with a 2-foot spotted bass between my teeth. Other fisherman looked at me -- were they impressed? Or did they think I was nuts?

All the stares. All the comments.

I ran to the middle of the Coronado Bridge. I let out a yelp, that sounded like a shrieking werewolf on a fullmoon. I then leaped off.

I woke up on the shore, spitting out water. I felt my face. It was smooth as a babies bottom. The beard was gone. I laughed giddily, like a man who just escaped an asylum.

I lay there, letting the sun bask my skin, like Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption, when he finally made his escape.

I walked barefoot to the nearest watering hole, dying of thurst. As I walk in, the bouncer asks to see my I.D. Hearing a bouncer say those words, to me...a man in his 30s...I cried. I dropped to my knees and balled my eyes out. My youthful face has been reclaimed.

The bouncer said, "We don't let crazies in here. You're 86'd."

I walked away with a smile on my face for the first time in months.

(note to self: next time, Google first to see if Gazelle are even indigenous to this country)

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood

In the final series on my beard, I'm not going to talk about people like Osama, Hemmingway, and Lincoln -- that all had beards. I'm going to talk instead, about my heightened senses.

My night vision increased dramatically. I could hear high pitched noises that were driving me insane. I realized why dogs sniffed everything in sight. I even wanted to stick my bearded face out the car window at speeds of up to 90 mph.

The beard had possessed me. It had an uncontrollable grip on me.

As I was driving to visit my brother in Julian, I stopped on the side of the road. I was scratching my beard like a madman; I ripped off my shirt, with buttons flying everywhere, and ran into a canyon. I chased a gazelle 50 yards before tackling it, and devouring the thing (and wondering why people flock to Julian for the apple pie).

As I walked back to the car, dripping sweat and blood, and wiping dirt from my beard, thoughts of shaving entered my mind. I thought of Bob Geldoff in The Wall, shaving off his nipples in the bathroom. I would sooner do that, then touch my mane of redish brown beard hair.

Upon my return, I was drawn to the beach in Coronado. I jumped into the cold water, and came out with a 2-foot spotted bass between my teeth. Other fisherman looked at me -- were they impressed? Or did they think I was nuts?

All the stares. All the comments.

I ran to the middle of the Coronado Bridge. I let out a yelp, that sounded like a shrieking werewolf on a fullmoon. I then leaped off.

I woke up on the shore, spitting out water. I felt my face. It was smooth as a babies bottom. The beard was gone. I laughed giddily, like a man who just escaped an asylum.

I lay there, letting the sun bask my skin, like Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption, when he finally made his escape.

I walked barefoot to the nearest watering hole, dying of thurst. As I walk in, the bouncer asks to see my I.D. Hearing a bouncer say those words, to me...a man in his 30s...I cried. I dropped to my knees and balled my eyes out. My youthful face has been reclaimed.

The bouncer said, "We don't let crazies in here. You're 86'd."

I walked away with a smile on my face for the first time in months.

(note to self: next time, Google first to see if Gazelle are even indigenous to this country)

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Robbed in Tijuana

Next Article

Chapter 4: The View From The Window Seat

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader