In 2 Samuel 10, King David had sent his envoys into foreign territory. Their reception was not friendly. They were seized, their beards were cut off, and clothes cut short. David's reply upon hearing the news? "Stay there until your beards have grown back."
OK. Clearly, David didn't want his homeboys to come back beardless, "for they had been greatly humiliated." Beards are hot again. I know because after 47 years of marriage, Jim decided he would grow one. For the past two years I have been living with someone who looked a lot like either the Dos Equis man (left) or Santa Claus. So it was quite a surprise when today Jim came home with no beard.
As pretty much everyone knows, beards are having a moment—a long one. Ever since summer 2013 the current beard trend has endured. In fact, the history of beards could be seen as a succession of moments. What is happening today is just the latest in a long line of men's rocky relationships with facial hair.
At first I didn't notice the beard was gone. He actually said "you are so perceptive!" Which is of course married talk for "are you blind?" I am thrilled with the clean-shaven face I now see, but I have come to understand a little of why beards are so loved by the male species. For you see, only a man can grow one. A child cannot grow a beard. A woman cannot, and in spite of the fact that a head of hair can be grown by anyone, only a grown man can grow a beard. It is his reserve, a treasure to be stroked and prized. But there's also a strange relationship between a man and his beard that cannot be ignored.
Over the past two years I came to realize that the old refrain "Breakin' Up is Hard to Do" was more than a 60's hit record. Even when a man tires of his facial hair, it can take him from long to never to get rid of the pet he grew himself. From a historic perspective, the ancient Hebrew man's beard was proof of his manhood and so precious it was customary for the first hairs of his beard to be presented to God. (Thankfully hair in the collection plate is no longer a common occurrence.)
What remains is that while only a man can grow a beard, it is also true that only a man can shave his beard off. Our work at UNITE INDY gets busier and busier by the month. Perhaps Jim wanted to spend less time fighting unruly whiskers, or perhaps he got tired of my frequent comments about how I wished to see his face again. Either way, the work grows and the beard does not.
Hallelujah,
Nancy
