Mustache migration

At our annual tradeshow earlier this week, I was delighted to reconnect with some colleagues I haven't seen in a few years.  These are people who serve on our board of directors, putting them into that shadowy territory where "boss" and "friend" meet.  No, they're not exactly friends.  I mind my P's and Q's, and so do they.  But I've known most of them almost 10 years now, and I genuinely like them. 

However, there was one startling observation to be made: The mustaches are migrating.

And, I must add, at risk of crossing into totally unprofessional territory, it is to good effect.  One or two of these gentlemen were practically unrecognizable without their trademark facial hair.  They were handsome older fellows to begin with, but they looked markedly younger with their new, fresh faces.  These guys are in their 50's and 60's... and their mustaches suited them well.  But now they look, well, modern.  More approachable.  Dare I say charmingly vulnerable?

And so it is with some apprehension that I confess the men of my own generation are suddenly exhibiting a strange fascination with facial hair.  Mustaches in particular.  Large, porn-star-from-the-70's mustaches to be truly precise.

For example: Would you trust this man with your children?

Because teach, my friends, is what this person does for a living.  I've disguised his identity here not so much for his own sake, but for the sake of my dear sister, who is married to him.

Apparently all the teachers in their school (well, the male ones) decided to grow extremely large, extremely sleazy mustaches this year.  Just in time for YEARBOOK PHOTOS.  Yes, this picture has been immortalized.

And it's not just my brother in law.  My husband is just dying for his own pimp-stache.  As are others in his circle.  I am beginning to wonder if mustaches are some sort of crafty alien parasite that feeds off of bored, impressionable young men, discarding their prey once they reach a certain age.

Whatever the reason, I seem to have a front-row ticket to the great crossroads of migration from one generation to the next.  It's quite a treat.  Pull up a chair, take a look around the next multi-generational party you attend, and let me know if you spot a similar phenomenon.