Every 10 years curiosity grabs hold of me and I wonder what my face looks like under the beard and so it was upon coming home this evening that I reached for the beard trimmer and a razor and cut the hair from my face. NO – I do not like seeing myself this way. Something is missing. I feel as though I look like everyone else. Worse, it feels like a stranger is looking back at me from the mirror. This week will have been the last time before 2018 that I will shave. A great aspect of not shaving is the freedom from taking a razor-sharp piece of cold steel to my throat every day and scraping my face raw. I love my beard. Long live the beard.