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Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Apple: Meet Tree

 


I had a lot of fun growing my beard recently, and Herman Melville liked it, too... Those curly locks were sacrificed for MOvember, and they are fondly missed. However, duty calls! 

And to soothe my hurting heart and freshly scraped face, I would like to pay homage to the only reason I am able to grow a decent beard: 

I am my father's son. 

When it comes to beards, Dad knows a thing or two. His beard-growing prowess is legend-hairy! 


When I was a young lad, living with my Mom and Dad and little brother in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dad saw an advertisement for a beard growing contest. This contest was sponsored by a local bank to celebrate Nebraska's Centennial of Statehood. 

Not only did Dad enter the contest, but he won the top prize for the best overall beard. Some details are in the article below. Let's assume the date was a typo! 




Dad was 28 years old in this picture. The contest was announced just 6 months before the judging, so his beard was less than six months in the making. 


Here is a picture of Dad's prize-winning
beard for the Nebraska Centennial in 1967


All of the grooming was done at home. Dad had some help from Mom, and the results were spectacular!  


Contestants dressed in period costume. Dad dressed as a banker might have been in 1867. He had arm-bands that bankers used to keep their sleeves pulled back tightly and some round spectacles that I borrowed and accidentally broke while enacting Ebenezer Scrooge in a middle school production of A Christmas Carol. Mom dressed the part too, with a beautiful yarn-dyed taffeta gown she made herself. I was six at the time and I remember Dad grooming his beard on Sunday mornings before church and listening to the men bantering about it after service. 





After winning the local contest in Lincoln, he went on to earn 2nd place and a big trophy in the Lancaster County contest. 








Nebraska revived the popular pioneer days beard contest for its Sesquicentennial in 2017 but I think Dad's beard and outfit will never be topped.

Monday, November 2, 2020

Live a Great Story

 



This blog called PhilosFX. The motivating idea behind the combination of Philosophy and Special Effects is Plato's Maxim, that the unexamined life is not worth living. Early on, I expressed this motivating idea as, 

"If your life were a movie, would anyone watch?" 

The implication of PhilosFX's motto is that life is a performance. Our time on the stage of life is brief and uncertain. The best way to live is to fully express each fleeting moment. As an Extrovert in the MBTI sense of the word, this motto makes perfect sense to me. Living your best life means living out loud.

There has always been one aspect of the motto that troubles me and some of my more introverted friends. The quality of one's lived experience is best judged by the individual's internal scale, not some external measure like audience approval. 

Today, I think I have found an inspirational phrase I like even better. 

"Live a Great Story." 

Seriously! Why didn't I think of that!? 

I am not affiliated with the creators of that inspirational phrase, now available on stickers, but I like it enough to send them some business. Please have a look at their website and consider ordering some Inspiration Sticker Packs. Spread the word. 


However you say it, remember the timeless truth in Plato's Maxim, and lean into life! 


"An unexamined life is not worth living."
 

This blog's name and phrase will remain unchanged but I do acknowledge the lesson. I believe that remaining open-minded, expressing some vulnerability, and showing a willingness to explore the unknown unknowns is consistent with living a fuller life. 

Thank you for dropping by PhilosFX today. Peace.