Movember thinking

Just wanted to talk a little about why I do Movember (on the last day of donations).

To be clear, here are some of the reasons I DON’T grow a mustache for Movember:

1. To look macho
2. To prove “what a man” I am because of my mustache
3. To shame men who can’t really grow mustaches
4. To scare my kids

When I went through cancer some of my hair fell out, some of it just stopped growing, and some just became really scraggly. I learned early on that my hair is not me. I also learned how much people actually judge you by your hair. As a man it was kinda’ easy to go out into the outside world without hair, but even still I would get looks or it would spark discussion. I think we, as a society, need to be more compassionate based on looks AND not scared.

Movember is a chance for me to reconnect to a different way of growing my hair which also helps me raise money for men’s mental health and cancers. It is also a chance for me to watch how people interact with me differently because of this caterpillar growing on my face. Given that I look like Danny Trejo from Machete with my ‘stache:

People on the street and new people I would meet would have a very interesting reaction to me. I was definitely more likely to have people do what I asked for and some were likely to look at me warily. I was still my usual friendly self with my goofy sense of humor and generally kind ways, but it didn’t matter. The look of my face with the mustache sent a definite signal. Next year, I think I am going to go even goofier on the mustache just to see what happens. Ok but enough of the serious talk.

Here are some reasons why I DO grow the mustache:

1. I think it is really goofy and embarrassing to wear it. I actually think people should think they are giving me the money for making such a fool of myself. I mean really, growing hair on your face is not like running a marathon or walking long distances over 3 days – the only thing that makes it money worthy is that it is a social burden.
2. It helps me give back to Men with mental health or cancer issues – two areas I have struggled with
3. I get to make lots of jokes with my kids and friends about it.
4. As all good Dads strive for – it gives me excellent weaponry to embarrass my children

So this is a long winded way of saying, in this season of spending, how about sending $10, $50, $200 towards a good cause!

There are two ways to give:

1. You can go directly to my Movember page and donate there
2. Buy your lovely lady friend (or yourself) a nice gift at Beklina.com and put movember in the offer tag – bam 10% goes to Movember!

 

Thanks in advance for all your support!