Schneid Remarks 8/31/23

I walked by a long-time friend of mine Sunday afternoon and he asked me if I had always had a beard.

I said yes, for many, many years, only this version of my beard has a different color to it….gray.

I guess he didn’t recognize the new, older, more gray Jay.

I am becoming relegated to the fact that sooner or later my head of hair will turn from dark brown to gray.

It was approximately 10 years ago when my then 13-year-old son Jayson and wife Jayne decided they were going to make me aware of the impending gray hair scenario.

We were eating pizza at the time and some times the cheese drips onto my face, shirt, pans, couch…you get the drift.

Well, this time, I was made aware of the cheese on my beard by my loving family.

Lo and behold it was not cheese. I went to the bathroom and realized it was a couple of gray hairs.

I am not sure if Jayson or Jayne knew at the time they alerted me of the suspected spill that it was a color change or actually cheese.

Well, it was gray hair. And this was the start of me being a bit self-concious of my impending hair color change.

I am not opposed to the color, but when you get picked on by your family for it maybe it is time for some Grecian Formula.

I have had gray hair on the back of my neck for years and I just figured the gray would move to the remaining hairs on the top of my head. Hasn’t happened yet. I have a couple grays so I know it is coming.

But the beard, that is another story. My little fu-manchu is pretty much all gray and when I grow the entire beard I just feel like I could audition as Santa Claus. It is pretty white. More white than dark anyway.

I have been told I have a pretty good head of hair from my stylists over the years so the chances of me losing it all and becoming bald don’t seem likely.

But the grays are continuing to roll in.

With the beard already completely entrenched in grays, do I just let time takes its course and wait patiently for the remainder of my dome to become a shiny gray? Or do I continue to take the ribbing from family and friends about my aged facial hair?

I already get picked on for the beautifully sculpted six pack abs. I guess one more body part is open for jokes.

I guess I am going to roll with what God gave me and just wait out the onslaught of gray. But God if you plan to gray me up, can we please do it all at one time?