Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: Small things..

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Small things..

"Go get a hot shower. It will make you feel like a different person".

Herself, as is typical, was right. I needed the shower; And afterwards, a shave.

I shave with a Safety Razor, a Boar bristle brush, and English shaving soap. Yeah, It's old fashioned, but it comes with some upsides I like.

'Safety Razor' means you won't cut your throat bad enough to die, or even need stitches. It does *not* mean you won't get cut... nosiree Bob.

Shaving with this thing means a man better come to the mirror ready to master his emotions. Try to shave too fast, too hard, or without measured thought.... and blood will happen. In that way, it's a lot like going to the firing range. Let your mind be on anything but what you are doing, and it won't be your best effort.

Let your stress run this razor, and you will have all day to think about the lesson.

2 comments:

Bob said...: I switched to a safety razor myself a few years ago, bought a nice used Gillette on eBay - - another man's razor, and the seller sent it with the last old blade still in it. I made the switch because I was tired of paying extortionate prices for plastic cartridge. 100 safety razor blades can be had for $10 or less. And the shave is much better than any 5-bladed cartridge can produce.

As for shaving, I do it in the shower, using regular bar soap to lather my beard. No mess at the sink, I shave by feel (no mirror), and the constant stream of hot water wets my beard far more effectively than the small splashes from a sink will.; May 3, 2020 at 12:03 AM
Carteach said...: I enjoy the entire process. It feels like my own time, concentrating on me for a change.

As for shower shaving, I know that's a gig for some people, but I need to see my face. Besides, I come from a long line of one bathroom homes, early work hours, and rushed off time. I've been trained to take showers that measure in minutes counted on one hand.... while holding coffee.; May 4, 2020 at 7:28 AM

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.