There is nothing more exciting for a young man, as he goes through the rite of passage and shaves his face for the first time.
I remember sitting on the closed toilet seat in the bathroom of our row home in Philadelphia, watching intently as my father stood in front of the mirror going through the ritual of shaving his face in the morning. I can still recall the steam rising up from the hot water in the sink, and the sound of the razor blade as it scraped across his skin.
All I kept thinking to myself was, “Ooooo…. I can’t wait to do that someday.”
Every morning I would examine my upper lip and chin in the mirror, hoping to find some sort of resemblance to a whisker, so I could finally get my first razor, a can of Barbasol shaving cream, and a bottle of Old Spice aftershave lotion.
Yet, it’s funny how only after a few years this eagerly anticipated right of passage suddenly became a royal PAIN IN MY ASS.
Even though I have a goatee, I still have to shave areas of my mug.
My least favorite area to shave is my neck, because no matter how careful I am, I always manage to look as though Jack the Ripper was hiding behind my shower curtain and suddenly jumped out; slashing my throat with a pair of dull toe nail clippers.
I look like one of those men you sometimes see at Starbucks in the morning, who has little pieces of bloodstained toilet paper stuck to his face.
I never shave on my days off, so that my face can take a break.
Now even though I kvetch about shaving, I know that women have it just as challenging as us men.
In fact, even more so.
So, I’m giving you all a homework assignment.
Just for tomorrow, I would like the men and women who read this blog to switch shaving rituals, so we can experience what the opposite sex has to endure in hair removal. And then give me a 200 word essay on the Hazards of Shaving.
Ladies, please shave your face…..
And gentlemen, please shave your underarms, legs, and chest ….
I. DON’T. THINK. SO.
(Ok, ladies.....you win)
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