One more...

I very nearly failed to post tonight. If memory serves, that would have been the first in 5 years. Fortunately, my wife reminded me and my record remains intact.

Ordinarily, I'd probably be rallying the troops in this space, but with one day left we're not even 1/3 of the way to the goal. It was ambitious and with hindsight clearly too much so. However, we've done good works here again this year and our four year total will be over $15,000, no matter how well tomorrow goes.

The beard itself has settled into a state of just being there. It's no longer this separate thing invading my face, it's part of me again. Part I'll be glad to see excised Saturday nonetheless.

Ouch!

Lola and Bill rode the J train together as they had done most weekdays in their fourteen-year marriage. Bill was on his way to the office and Lola to the museum. Bill had been growing a beard all month. He claimed it was for some sort of charity, but Lola was sure he was just goofing off. Nonetheless, it had come in surprisingly long in that short amount of time.

Bill's stop came first and with a peck on Lola's cheek, he got up and headed for the door.

"Hey!" exclaimed Lola as she got up to follow him.

"Oh, right!" he said, turning back from the platform. "Happy anniversary!" He leaned in to give her a proper kiss, ignoring the warning of imminent door closure. After the kiss, he said, "I'll see you tonight."

The subway doors closed, and while Bill had pulled his face just clear, he'd forgotten about his beard. The train began to move but Bill couldn't do anything but trot along, his chin being pulled with it. Lola pounded the door frantically from the inside, a look of horror on her face as she watched helplessly as her husband was dragged along by the massive train. In her panic, she didn't think about the STOP button easily within her reach.

As the train began to pick up speed, Bill could no longer keep up. He braced himself, reached for a column and stopped his momentum with his right arm. He then suffered instantaneous, traumatic depilation as his beard was ripped clean off by the train.