Waiting for Mo

Me & my son show off our Mo's
One of the things I love about my husband is that he did not propose by shaving "Marry me?" into his back hair*. Should that thought have occurred to him, we would not be married today for several reasons, the least of which is that we would be well into our golden years and his back would still be as bare as the day he was born. He is simply not a hairy man.

Because I am not attracted to the Grizzly Adams type, this has never been an issue for me. However, it is inevitable that all males will exercise their ability to grow facial hair at some point. For Richie, this came in the form of a goatee a few years after we were married. For some men this means not shaving for a day or two. For Richie, it was a three month process, with patches of hair here or there, and one spot where no hair would grow no matter how long he waited, how much red meat he ate or ESPN he watched. But eventually his patience paid off and he was a man with facial hair.

He kept it trimmed short, for obvious reasons and although I'm usually not attracted to men with beards, I found it very sexy.

So why would this handsome man who worked so for his goatee shave it off last night with out a second thought?

One word; Movember.

I know. That's not even a word. According to Richie's website, Movember is a moustache growing charity event held during the month of November every year that raises funds and awareness for men's health - specifically prostate and testicular cancer. The month-long campaign this year will benefit The Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

For a minute, Richie was tempted to keep his moustache and just shave off the beard part of the goatee. After all it wasn't a huge mustache to start with, who would notice. But the "rules" of Movember are to start clean shaven and grow your best moustache in 30 days. Seems that the naked faces act as billboards that then grow Mo's to raise awareness for the cause. Richie understood this, and off came the goatee.

So I got to thinking about all those guys out there like Richie who would like to participate in Movember, but are letting their propensity for slow growing hair stop them. I became determined to encourage the "Slow Mo Growers" to unite. What better cause than increasing awareness of a disease that will affect 1 in 6 men (half of whom are probably slow Mo growers).

If you are letting fear of taunting by your family and co-workers stop you, I've prepared some come-backs for you, the "Slow Mo Growers."

You Wanna Take on My Mo?
TAUNT: What's that on your upper lip?
COMEBACK: I call him Mo. What do you call that bald spot on the back of your head? Jenny?

Image by davesag via Flickr

TAUNT: I think you have some crumbs or something on your face.
COMEBACK: My Mo is finding a cure for cancer. What's your uni-brow done for you lately.

TAUNT: How long do you think it will take before we can see that thing without a magnifying glass?
COMEBACK: Let's race. My Mo turns into a handlebar moustache before your beer gut turns into a sixpack.

TAUNT: My sister could grow a better moustache than you.
COMEBACK: Awesome. Tell her to sign up for Movember. And, in December, she might want to start bleaching, just saying.

Now you're out of excuses. So go, grow, Mo!

*Footnote - Gentleman, this is not a suggestion, I saw it on AFV in the late 1990's.