Thread: My Son

My son is 12 and could not be less interested in how I or anyone else shaves. He and I are very different and share little but a deep and intense love for each other.

I enjoy getting dressed for the day -- usually suit, tie, wingtips. He wears shorts and a tee shirt. Oh, and Kobes (which smell terrible).

Business cut for me. His Justin Bieber cut looks remarkably Beatle-like, and he practices tossing his head (and hair) to one side in a manner that he thinks attracts 12-year-old girls. It does, by the way. Some 15-year-olds also, I've noticed.

When I got my first coticule he feigned an interest because he saw me fondling it for a long time. When he asked what it cost and I told him he literally fell on the ground laughing.

I've always been a very quiet, introspective kind of guy. He's the class clown.

Most mornings he leaves for school about the time I'm in the middle of my straight shave. He knocks on the door, finds a relatively clean piece of cheek, and kisses me goodbye. Never gives the scuttle, the razor, the brush a second look.

I live for the day he will ask me to teach him how to do it. I don't tell him this, because he is his own person and needs to find his own way. He may never ask, and I will love him none the less.

But I do envy you guys whose sons and grandsons ask.