I have never been overly concerned about my appearance, in the sense of being handsome or homely, as a kid or an adult. I have never thought of myself as being good-looking or ugly. But I did have a terrible acne problem when I was in High School and would spend hours in front of the mirror playing “search and destroy,” covering the mirror with white goop and then using my Neutrogena cover-up to try and look normal before I went to school. One of my friends in High School started calling me “Dee Zit Duke,” lovely friend, huh?

Now, I do spend some time trimming my beard so it looks nice. I go to the barber regularly to get a haircut. When he asks me how I want my hair cut, I tell him, “just make me look pretty.” I polish my boots when they start looking dull, and I try to wear a tee shirt that isn’t all frayed at the neck if it shows above my shirt. I brush my teeth every day gargle with mouth freshener, and change my underwear every day.

When I got my new glasses a couple of years ago they looked just like the pair I had before them and the pair before them and the pair before them. I picked frames that were on the small side with thin rims on the top and no rims on the bottom so they were as inconspicuous as possible. When I got my last glasses they said that I got a second set of lenses free but that I had to pay for the frames. I said, “Just give me the cheapest frames that you have.” My intent was to wear them when I worked in the shop so I didn’t scratch my regular glasses, but I never did because I always forgot. So they ended up in my junk drawer where I put stuff that got left in my pockets during the day. Last week the little screw that holds my glasses frame together fell out and one of my lenses fell out. I tried to superglue it all back together and got super glue all over the lens. So, I dug around in my drawer and found my extra pair of glasses. When I saw them, I thought, “These are the ugliest glasses I have ever seen! Way oversized, with big, black frames. I didn’t have much choice, wear them or be blind.

I have been wearing them for several days now and I have had dozens of people say, “nice glasses, makes you look handsome.” Really! OK, I guess these are my new glasses, I like looking handsome!

Because of Television and movies and all that goes with it our culture idolizes attractiveness and physical appearance. It has infected our schools, workplaces and even our churches. As I get older my hair falls out, my belly gets big, my skin sags, my ears get bigger, and I get these brown spots.

But one of the cool things about getting older is that how handsome I am doesn’t matter much anymore. Patty tells me that I am a “handsome dog,” and I am happy with that.