THE TRIALS AND TRAVAILS OF THE HAPPILY BEARDED MAN

I hate OSHA.

I never really liked this particular government agency, though I do at least appreciate what they are hypothetically trying to do.

But now they've gone too far. At work I have to wear a full-face respirator lest I inhale certain harmful fumes from materials with which I work. The respirator manufacturers state that it is perfectly safe to wear them over a closely trimmed beard. But OSHA? Not good enough for them...not good enough for government work. THEY say that the rubber seal has to contact clean-shaven skin.

So the full beard that I have worn with only one brief interruption for the past four years and more is now severely interrupted. I don't have a full beard now--I have a goatee and long sideburns.

I will post a picture soon so that those who read here may decide what precisely this abomination most resembles. So far I've been told that I look like a very wild Elvis, a Kentucky Hick, a member of some 70's band I'd never heard of, a drummer, a motorcycle dude, and a few other things.

Truly not cool. I look like I'm trying to rebel or something. ;)

So, like I said, OSHA sucks.