Close Shave, 3

I remember, from adolescence, a TV commercial for Norelco that used to run during the Christmas holidays (which, in my youth, did not commence in October). It showed some kind of Northland cartoon creature coasting along over the snowy hills on a Norelco. I'm going to look right now on YouTube to see if I can find it ...

Just found it! (Link to ad.) Got an image, too ... which, as you can see, is not (as I remembered) "some kind of Northland cartoon creature" but Santa himself--and he's riding not on the razor but on one of the (supposedly) amazing, smooth rotary heads.

Ah, Memory, you treacherous servant!

Anyway, back in late high school, I'd asked for a Norelco for Christmas (sans Santa, thank you), and I got one--one that looked quite a bit like the one at the top of the page. Dad was using one by that time, and I felt like Dad, when (if I got up early enough) I plugged that sucker in, turned it on, puffed out my cheeks (as Dad did), rubbed it across the puffery (which by then, occasionally, actually featured whiskers), and got the worst shave I've ever had in my life.

That's right: Santa lied. For as fun as it was to use (less fun to clean--see the little brush in the picture?), it just did not cut very well and always left some stubble rough to the touch, especially on my neck. At first I thought that was kind of cool--virile, you know? (I got a beard so tough even a Norelco can't handle it!)

But that grew tiresome, and during my sophomore year in college, I ditched the Norelco and went back to Gillette and cold steel--and learned some technique from a classmate,

To be continued ...

PS--I got a note from my younger brother concerning my memories of Dad and the school bell (see previous post). Dave (brother) remembers that Dad had bought the bell (not, as I'd speculated, received it from our bell-collecting grandmother); he also remembered that Dad had one more warning following the Last call! call: If I have to come up there, boys, it won't be funny. As Dave noted, we were frequently laughing when we heard that--though we would not have laughed had we actually heard his tread on the steps!