7 thoughts on “Extreme closeup: Suddenly, I age 20 years”

1. Tom Willett July 14, 2008 at 11:12 am

   Brad-
   I like your shirt. What kind of razor do you use to get that clean, close shave?

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2. p.m. July 14, 2008 at 11:14 am

   Thank you yet again. I can come back now. I have immortality issues with pictures more than 20 years old, such as The State’s recruiting column photo of Phil Kornblut, which had to have been taken when he was in high school, which proves there ain’t no future in the past, I think.

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3. r.b. July 14, 2008 at 11:27 am

   well, a smile might give you back 10 years 🙂 my advice: avoid extreme anything, as it usually isn’t flattering.

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4. slugger July 14, 2008 at 1:53 pm

   Please remove the current photo. My dog took one look at that face and I have not seen him for the rest of the day.

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5. Brad Warthen July 15, 2008 at 8:46 am

   I really, really don’t like pictures of myself smiling — except when I have a beard. With a beard, I think I look jolly when I smile.

   When I smile without a beard, I think I tend to look — weird. I’m often shocked.

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6. Karen McLeod July 15, 2008 at 7:35 pm

   In this one you look like Indiana Jones, the professor, confronting a hopelessly dense student.

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7. Brad Warthen July 17, 2008 at 2:17 pm

   Tom, I’m glad you like the shirt. I do, too. I bought that shirt at Wal-Mart for $3 summer before last. I kid you not. It’s a “Faded Glory” brand. I got several shirts like it in different colors, and I still wear them. Robert Ariail, a man of expensive tastes, has complemented me on one of them more than once, mistaking it for a pricey brand.
   I send these shirts to the cleaners, and they hold starch and press better than some alleged dress shirts I’ve bought from department stores. Ever since then, whenever I’m in Wal-Mart, I check to see if they have any more of these marked down. But I haven’t seen any like them since then.
   I’ve also been known to get dress shirts from thrift stores. I’ve got a nice blue Brooks Brothers I wear regularly to work, also for $3. But those new shirts from Wal-Mart were probably my best work-clothes bargain ever.
   As for shaving: I use a Schick Extreme 3 disposable. I had used the old Gillette Atra for a quarter century or so, until one time my wife bought me the Schicks, and they shaved closer with a lot less bleeding, so I switched for once.
   Of course, nothing beats not shaving at all. Maybe it’s time the beard made a comeback…

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