Mustache or no mustache? You vote. You decide.

Stache?

Or no stache?

At a business lunch last year I overhead a client seated two chairs over refer to me as a “Q-Tip."

“What did you call me?" I asked, ready to pounce.

“A Q-Tip. You know – a tall thin old guy with white hair,” she replied, looking embarrassed. She probably assumed anyone my age wouldn’t have been able to hear her.

I suppose I could have thanked her for saying I'm thin. But I didn't.

When I look in the mirror, I don't see white hair. I see brown hair. That's the hair color I listed on my driver's license application. The clerk crossed that out and changed it to "white." Fine. If the state of Florida insists the hair on the top of my head is white I'll go along with that.

But it had never occurred to me until Friday night that my mustache is even whiter and, in combination with the cotton top, may be making me look older than my 52 years. (Okay, my 55 years. Would you believe my 58 years?  I know what you're thinking. I can hardly believe it myself.)

I've had that 'stache since college. It's my trademark. Every 10 years or so I shave it off but my wife and kids always make fun of the way I look without it – they claim the real estate between my upper lip and nose is weird and, truth be told, it sort of is – so I immediately grow it back.

Back to Friday night. We were at a restaurant with friends. One of them asked a stranger to take a picture of our group. (When you’re our age, it's important to ask strangers to take photos so the next day you’ll be able to remember where you were and who you were with.) Looking at that photo was an aha moment. I was shocked to see how white my mustache is and that I have become a dead ringer for my grandfather.

And so Saturday, for the first time this millennium, I shaved it off. Before I did, I asked my wife to take a pic of me with the 'stache. And when I finished, she took one of me without it. (See above.)

She says she can't decide whether I look better with or without the 'stache. I can't either. Perhaps I look younger without it but "younger" doesn't necessarily translate to "better" when you've got a weird upper lip. So I'm going to leave it up to you, my faithful readers. You can use the “Comments" function immediately below to register your vote, send an email to tom.dryden@gmail.com or leave a message on my Facebook wall. Simply write "Stache" or "No Stache." I will abide by your collective decision. You have one week to vote. Majority rules apply.

Thank Q.