This November, the ladies who edit the section here at GMP called For the Love of Men decided to try to participate in Movember the best we could, by sharing one famous mustache per day, throughout the month. Movember, in case you haven’t heard, is an awesome campaign to raise awareness and research funds for prostate cancer.
This month, men everywhere are growing mustaches to show support to the movement and the men who are battling or have battled this common and dangerous form of cancer.
But today, instead of a famous mustache, I’ve decided to share a non-famous mustache with all of you—my dad’s!
The photo above is of my dad in the early 1980s. While my dad may not be as famous as Tom Selleck, I think we can all agree that his mustache is definitely a worthy opponent of even Magnum PI’s.
The photo below is a selfie I took with my dad few years ago. We were sitting at his computer on a 90 degree day in the midwest, and I was trying to teach him to use Pinterest. I’m not sure if he really wanted to learn, or was just being a good sport, but he went along with it.
My dad’s mustache is so much a part of his identity that I’m not sure anyone would recognize him without it. I’ll never forget one year, on his birthday, we watched as he drove up the long gravel driveway to our house after work. My mom looked at us and said, “Now, go run and give Dad a hug and say ‘happy birthday!'”
We tromped down the stairs just as the door was opening. But the man coming through the door was a stranger—or at least looked like one.
My dad had shaved his mustache and I had no clue who he was. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and eyeballed this balled-lipped impostor warily. Despite reassurances from my mom and older brother, I wasn’t going for it.
I don’t know if it took a few days or a few hours, but I did eventually adjust to my dad’s new look. But it was temporary. He immediately began growing back the mustache that is still there today.
So in honor of all the dads, brothers, husbands, friends and coworkers who sport a ‘stache—this month and always—here’s to a prosperous and healthy Movember!