;)
I don't usually post twice in one day, but this is big news - I have to do it. At some point after I left Arizona, Charlie and Melanie did, too - but they did not come straight back to Alaska. They went to Bend, Oregonian, so that Charlie could compete in the National Beard and Moustache Championships, amongst a total field of 189.
Today, I received an email from Charlie's mom and dad informing me that Charlie won 3rd place in the Freestyle category. Some birds helped him make this stunning achievement by nesting in his beard.
The Anchorage Daily News ran a blurb today, and you can find the partial full story, complete with a picture of Charlie and the birds that nested in his beard, in the Oregonian.
Congratulations, Charlie - we always knew that you have talent and would go far in this life!
I do not want to violate the Oregonian's photo copyright, so I have only posted an extreme crop from one of the photos in my Cibecue Creek series, but, please, if you haven't already, go look at the real thing!
Update (10:25 PM): Charlie's mom just informed me that Melanie was his stylist. Melanie took some pictures of her own and she is going to email an image or two or three. When she does, I will add it, or them, to this post.
Update (7:03 PM Thursday, 6/10/10): MgSoCal has left a comment informing me that Charlie's picture is on the front page of today's L.A. Times online. I don't know how long it will stay there, but here it is: