The End is Here

"This is the end, my mustache friends, The End..."  Jim Morrison, although not a Mustache Devotee, certainly had it right.   Even the Great Wall of China has to have an end.  But don't despair, dear friends, because even though the Summer has come and gone, the spirit of Mustache Summer will live on.  Our inaugural year has caused quite a splash.  Notice from the press has been excellent.  I think we all have made a difference in the Way America Shaves.  This is just the beginning of a new era in facial hair.  Watch with me as the pendulum swings away from the beard and the goat, and toward the Majestic Mustache.  Keep your eye on the Silver Screen and watch Hollywood reveal its passion for the Hair O'er the Lip. 

Ah yes - The End is Just the Beginning.  Thank you, Mustache Summer, for helping us laugh at beards again.

Learned Your Lesson

Fifteen weeks of Facial Fun it's been.  The Cookie Duster has tried to teach everyone everywhere to "Keep a little 'stache in your heart".  Why, I had no idea at the beginning of the summer what the hell I was going to *do* with my mustache.  

As the mustache slowly started coming in, we touched on some interesting subjects, like Why Guys from India grow Bushy Mustaches and Why So Many Cops have Those 'Staches.   I was lucky enough to get some inside information from those in the know, and felt it my duty to get this stuff out there.   I also got to do some interesting research into the lives of famous mustached people, like Kaiser Wilhelm and Paul McCartney.  You find great sideroads when you are searching like that.

The Roads Not Taken

On the other hand, there were a number of topics that I was *going* to cover, but never got around to.  Looking back at the Preseason edition of the Cookie Duster, I see Mustaches in Music - now that one would have been cool.  I was thinking of all the great 'staches in the Calliopean arena - did you know that David Bowie had a mustache for a while?  Yes, a scraggly little one while he was in Berlin in the mid 70s recording "Low".  And let's not forget Journey.  Steve Perry only had a mustache for a short time...

Come to think of it, I did namecheck the Incubus Guy a couple of weeks ago and Paul McCartney before that, so I guess music got in there a little bit.  I suppose I shouldn't dwell on the omissions, but I was quite excited to get to some of them.  Ah, well... there's always next year!

Looking to the Future

So what is to become of the personal Duster now that Mustache Summer is coming to a close?  Am I going to abandon the sub-nasal carpeting for a bald lip or (shudder) a beard?

Have no fear that I would ever turn to the beard or goat again.   I can't even grow a full beard, and I did that goat thing back in the mid 90s.  It's done.  Tired.

I think that in the immediate future I'm going to go from the handlebar to a straight Doc Holliday.  I love the handlebar, but it requires more effort for everyday living than I am willing to exert.  And without wax, it tends to constantly stray down to my mouth and bug the crap out of me.  Therefore, next week I'm going to trim the 'stache down to a manageable length and start the little patch below the mouth. 

I'm your huckleberry

I figure I have about four or five months until it becomes more popular and I look like everybody else, so NOW'S THE TIME!  After that, who knows?

A Good Omen

Now I know that my work here has been blessed.  My wife and I were in Yosemite this weekend on a lark, walking around the nature they have there.   We started walking back to the car to leave, and I saw a bicycle rider approaching.   As he got nearer I saw that he had a nice mustache (see the theory explained Sept. 6).  Kind of a Sam Elliott-style mustache. 
This was because it was Sam Elliott himself.   One of Hollywood's greatest living Mustache Proponents.  As he rode past he looked right at my mustache... and nodded.  I nodded back. 

That's a seal of approval, my friends.

KIT, Stay Sweet...

Sadly, we must draw a close to a great Mustache Summer.  I had a lot of fun putting electrons in groups for you.  Producing a weekly column in a lot harder than it looks, but it's rewarding.  I wish all of you Stache-fans the best of luck with your crops, and hopefully I'll see y'all in Mustache Summer 2000.

Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing - XianRex@mustachesummer.com - and I'll make you a star next year.   I'm going to sit in a corner with back issues of the Cookie Duster, so until next Summer, Make Mine Mustache!

Don't miss out on previous Dusters:

Preseason
June 21
June 28
July 5
July 12
July 19
July 26
August 2
August 16
August 23
August 30
September 6
September 13

Don't miss out on previous Dusters:

Preseason
June 21
June 28
July 5
July 12
July 19
July 26
August 2
August 16
August 23
August 30
September 6
September 13