I stopped by the library to find a copy of the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack. I took it to the check-out counter, where I hadn’t seen one of the clerks in quite some time. She commented on my beard and asked the same question my wife had asked me recently: “Why grow it now? Won’t it be hot?”

I said something about protecting my face against the elements, but decided to come clean and got a good laugh from the entire front-counter staff: “Actually, we’ve been binge-watching Game of Thrones lately.”