When I put on the original cheesy Halloween Frito-Bandito moustache on November 4th as a humourous gesture to raise awareness for Movember, never did I think I would be wearing a moustache to work everyday. It began with my associate, Mr. Kevin Kraan, who approached me to help him organize a Toyota team for Movember; I had just heard about Movember that morning on CBC and quickly agreed. With that cheesy moustache affixed to my upper lip, I decided to show it off to my fellow team members who work on the plant floor. Mr. David Smethurst, a gentleman who can’t turn down a good opportunity, wagered a bet I just couldn’t resist – perhaps even an offer I could not refuse. “If you wear the moustache for Movember, I will raise $1,000” dared Mr. Smethurst – I took the bet immediately. How naïve I was. Raising $1,000 took a mere 15 minutes. I thought “wow!” I never dreamed my colleagues and Management would be so eager to donate a $100 to see me wearing a moustache everyday! Not being a savvy gambler, I admit, I should have raised the stakes to $3,000 before jumping right in. Note to self.
With that, I resigned myself to my part of the deal, but not with regret. I considered wearing a moustache everyday to work, and in public, an awesome opportunity to bring awareness to a most important cause. However, I knew wearing a cheesy Halloween moustache would not be it; after a trip to The Party Bizarre, a blond, real-hair moustache was purchased.
Prior to the real-hair purchase, I attended a 100 Mile Harvest dinner hosted by Earthwise Society, Delta, B.C., wearing another model of the Halloween moustache that frankly felt like a fuzzy bedroom slipper stuck to my upper lip. The experience of walking into a room of 75 people wearing a Mo was more than I could imagine - everyone stopped and stared. What did I expect? What could I expect? Those who knew me were not surprised that I might step out for a good cause and others expressed their support. By the end of the evening, one of our local politicians, Vicki Huntington told me that everyone in the room had been talking about me, my Mo and Movember.
I would like to thank my fellow diners for taking me and my fuzzy bedroom slipper seriously enough to engage in some good conversation over a delicious meal. Brown’s Social House in Richmond, B.C., receives top honours in my Movember book for comping my lunch because I was wearing my Mo.
The trip to San Antonio, Texas was going to be an adventure with or without the moustache, so the blond Mo came along. I was visiting a girlfriend and fellow Toyota team member and had to prepare her for the idea that her buddy would be hitting Southtown with a Mo. This was not a problem for Erin and so, on Friday night, Erin, Jeff and I made our way along Riverwalk in search of some great jazz and an atmosphere that would welcome a girl with a moustache. Sure enough, we ended up at Landing, Jazz on the River. Again, people stopped and stared at me, but I know that they will not forget and will likely have a discussion and then they will know.
Now that it is the middle of Movember, I am actually growing fond of the Mo. On chilly mornings, my upper lip is warm and I’ve stopped twirling my hair, instead I touch the moustache like I have observed men with a Mo doing. The reception from the men I work with, all 250 of them, has been mixed. Some aren’t able to get over the moustache, and others are finding it attractive, but they all know that the efforts come from the bottom of my fund-raising heart for a disease I pray none of them have to face.
~ Joni Wright, Mo Sista
Delta, B.C.