CVIII. Beard. March 22, 2023

>driving Lyft

>I’m at an apartment block that looks like a brick lunchbox

>this lady comes downstairs and gets in the car

>she says “Can you wait just a minute, My husband’s coming

>”he’s a little slow because he had a stroke”

>he is not too terribly slow for all that

>though he must navigate the stairs carefully

>and opening the car door takes a bit

>when he gets in, he smiles and nods

>says nothing

>we start off towards some doctor’s appointment

>for a while, the trip is silent

>then the husband says “hey man, I’m jealous of your beard—it’s impressive”

>”Thanks, man, I appreciate it”

>silence for a beat

>then the guy says “I heard you gotta eat a lot of ass to get a beard like that”

>well

>I guess that’s one way