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"When are you going to shave that thing off?", he asked.

Huh?

I don't even know his name.  He walks at the Mall.  Sometimes we say, "Good Morning!"

I did a quick calculation:  "that thing" has been there for more than forty years.  At the suggestion of someone I lived with, I had cut it off.  With half my beard gone, I looked in the mirror, and decided I had no choice but to cut the other half off, and let it start to grow back that same day.  There it has been, ever since, with variations.

Another guy at the Mall early in the morning, regularly tells me I need a haircut.  He means a buzz cut.  Such as he has.  The last time he reminded me that what is left of my hair is too long, he slyly suggested that it would make me more appealing "to the ladies".

"That," I replied, "is why I do not have a buzz cut.

He is the same guy who tells me that my pickup is dirty.

I am trying to compose a reply to those guys.  I think it should begin with, "When are you going to . . .",
and it probably ought to end with, "off".

I will think of something.

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