Freshman year of college (fall '77) I started a routine of growing what little seed would find fertile soil each fall from Thanksgiving through my birthday at the end of February, than shaving it off. Started out as a wispy thin stache and some chin frizzle, and over the next 7 years it got slowly more full, dark and respectable goatee, as the side stuff just never got there (must be the Cherokee blood in me). After med school while in training i grew the "full Robertson" for a couple years, long enough to need daily shampoo and conditioner and at one point to even braid half of it (for a punk party). Shaved it off clean one day and it took folks at work a couple days to realize that the "new guy" was actually me sans fur. Back to the winter growth pattern for a couple years, then to a fu man chu for a couple rebel "jeep with no top year round" years. Full grown but trimmed for the birth of my kids, then back to the winter growth pattern til about 10 years ago when I settled on the year round short trimmed goatee. Shaved it off once or twice, found that both the wife and the dog growled at me like a stranger and the kid cried every time he saw me from stranger danger, and grew it back. Tried the full Robertson again last year for a few months but it is not as attractive in salt and pepper (more salt than pepper), trying it again right now. Since I don't work face to face with folks on a daily basis I can afford to enjoy the break from the daily "face scrape" and the weekly "stubble knock off" in the shower littering the tub. Will try to rustle up a photo or two to post as I find it an interesting backwards look at the progression in photos myself (although I am not fond of the widening jowls that also showed up).