Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, I know some of you are in places around the world where today is just another Thursday. Us American types invite you to join in the spirit of thanks today, no matter where you are. Heaven knows we need a lot more thanks and positive energy than just one corner of the world can hope to provide.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to everyone who makes this such a great and unique place. We’ve talked about it fairly often, but there is still no other spot anywhere on the internet where you can find the spirit and attitude of this place. Nearly five years ago, Chris
@Bama Samurai invited a few of us to join him on a journey to learn how to shave. Instead of thinking the answer to a great shave was somehow in the gear we were all buying as fast as we could, he had discovered, thanks to a gentleman named G.D. Carrington, that the answer was in how we used whatever gear we picked up. Technique is the key. Technique Trumps Tools! (As long as the tool isn’t defective) This was the motto and goal, to achieve great shaves as effortlessly as we eat dinner. And most of us have no trouble with shoving food in our mouths. I know….I’ve seen a number of you eat BBQ!!
Somewhere along the way we also discovered that we could enjoy each other’s company. We found common beliefs, and even commonality where beliefs might differ! We started caring about each other’s lives, health, families and all of that other mushy stuff. For heaven’s sake, we’ve watched two young boys grow weekly for the past couple of years. And our Wednesdays and Fridays aren’t complete until we get the latest picture. We rejoice when others rejoice and feel sadness when others are sad. We share stories of kids off to college, moves across the country, the latest round of snow or floods, and watch tractors being fixed and built. The diversity that exists here is truly amazing. Beyond amazing, really.
And, by the way, we have some of the finest shaving gear in the world represented in this little corner of the world! Amazing vintage straight razors, vintage safety razors, modern pain sticks, modern DE razors and so many others. We could fill the Grand Canyon with brushes and the amount of soaps we hoard – I’m not sure there’s enough land surface on earth to keep up! Yeah, we’ve the cool kids with the cool toys. No doubt about it. And...we know how to "lightly encourage" others to try the best stuff we've found. Some call it "enabling". I just call it "sharing the love".
Most of all, we have a spirit of community that transcends anything I’ve found anywhere else. We invite newbies into the fold and answer their questions. Most forums tell the newbs to “look it up”. “We’ve answered that a million times”. “Do some research before you bother us”. Not the 30DC. Yep, we’ve answered every question a million times but we’ll answer it a million more if we get a million more newbies. We like getting to help you discover great shaving. We like seeing you develop your skills and become the next person who is now answering questions and coaching others. It’s an amazing legacy.
I could name so many names of people who have made my life more enjoyable, richer and just plain more fun by being part of this group. I could tell so many stories of the fun at the Meet-Ups, or of the shenanigans that are pulled around here. And I look forward to, hopefully, adding many more of those stories in the future.
I know this place has gotten busier by the month and is a bit of a handful at times to keep track of. When I look back over the past few years and see the growth it really astounds me. Sometimes I long for the old days when we only had about a thousand posts. It’s easy to lose topics and miss out on some of the shenanigans now, but I believe the added volume is worth the trouble. We have more people than ever in our little band and together we make some really beautiful music. There’s always room for one more! Thanks for your patience as we continue to get bigger and noisier!
Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all who make this such a special place. I hope you eat too much, nap too long and get up and eat some more. Then get that shave done and let us hear how it went!!!
Your humble and faithful Czar and the rest of the crew at Cartel HQ.
Neal the 1st, Ivan, Boris, Yuri, Vladimir, Natalia and the rest of the drunks….er…….staff.
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