I dedicate this one to a fab lady I know who is burning up my Instagram timeline showing people how to be stylish during the COVID lockdown.

Before we look at the dystopian present, let’s trek back to the good old days (and no, I’m not talking February).
When I was a mere lad, I would always see men with beards and long for the day when I could have facial hair. Lo and behold, when I did get facial hair, I always shaved it off once it got to a certain level.
I think part of my strategy was because I felt that once I started working, I needed to look a certain way.
But I also suppose I got a kick out of using my Gillette razors and shaving cream; feel like mi tun big man.
But the razor bumps came along, and yours truly realised that his personal grooming would have to be done with a shear.
I even did it myself for a time, but for years, I have done my shaving at the good old barbershop. I rationalised that I had to shave and line up for the ladies.
But then a few years ago, I started realising that more and more women I know (and a few who I’m not friends with but who I admire) love a man with a beard.
I do remember some of my peers joining the ‘beard gang’ years ago. Then later on, I figured more men started to do it at least partly because they were influenced by Rick Ross.
But over time, I’ve come to realise that it’s a whole lifestyle. There are beard oils, tutorials on how to properly groom your beard, and international contests to see who has the best one.
I’ve never really thought a beard was my thing. I may have been sorta turned off by the rhetoric of some that only ‘real men’ wear beards.
I didn’t think I had to prove anything to anyone, kinda like when I didn’t learn how to drive a car with manual transmission. That’s another story.
OK, history lesson over. Back to the present. Some time last month, I realised that I had not been to the barbershop since about early March.
The restrictions on barbershop opening hours and protocols about using them are a turn-off. So I’ve gone from looking like ‘smaddy pickney’ (clean-shaved) to a cross between Wolverine and a yeti.
So, wouldn’t you guess, since I’ve wondered what it would be like to grow a beard, there’s no time like the present to actually do it.
One thing I’ve read (yep, I’m even studying about beards now) is that being patient and simply letting it grow is the smart thing to do. Time is the master, and let’s face it, time I’ve got.
So yuh waan see me a brush and comb up every day. Might try to find the beard oil if I actually leave the house.
So when things are back to normal (which at this rate, looks like 2022, or whenever), I may be unrecognisable. But hey, change can be a good thing, right?

Link me at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com