Tour and Beard Journal (Day 10)
Andy Ingram
The Florals drove back out to and played Lock Haven, PA last night. It is a really nice, small town in the middle of Pennsylvania where we got to see our friends (or meet in my case) Sam and Kayla. Think of North Bend, WA, where Twin Peaks was filmed, with huge hills hanging over the town instead of Mt. Si. Or think of a more vibrant Urbana, OH with rolling hills in the close skyline. The river that runs through the town is gorgeous. Lock Haven University is here. Penn State University is 30 minutes away. Williamsport, PA, where the Little League World Series is held annually, is close by as well.
Avenue 209 Coffee House is the place we played. It was very friendly show mostly because a long-lasting friendship (like Brenna and Alex have with Sam and Kayla) makes sharing music so sweet. That simliar friendship, either with long-time friends in the towns we toured through, or with people who encouraged us at shows, or just among the tour/ bandmates is to me what makes the hassle of traveling and touring so worthwhile. You can't develop friendship like that by sitting at home playing video games.
With that show, the Florals' first tour has come to a close. And with that last show, so has the tour beard. Did anyone really expect me to keep it? Didn't the complaining foreshadow the outcome? I had gone in to hiding the last few days- steadfast in carrying on the committment but embarrassed at how I look with such sparse and unkempt facial hair. As Paul Varjak responds in Breakfast at Tiffany's, "I'm the sensitive, clean-shaven, bookish type." That's just who I am and I realize that more than ever.
I do have to applaud all of you men who have committed to the razorless lifestyle. You may call it follicle laziness. I call it follicle dedication. You are better at being a man than I.
Yet I feel so clean right now, and I couldn't be happier. The End.