Like the rest of us, I spent part of last week anxiously sitting and waiting to see what kind of punch Sandy would pack.

Most people thankfully avoided major trouble and the problems in our area paled in comparison to the ones faced by those living closer to the water.

The storm, however, provided more for me than a reminder of Mother Nature’s ability to destroy. My two days off from work let me visit with an old friend who I don’t get to see very often.

Beardy.

You see, I have to shave pretty regularly for work. That, combined with facial hair that doesn’t always grow very fast, means I rarely get above what most people would call a scruff.

So when I can go four days without shaving, I actually start to grow a little beard. And I like to call him Beardy because that makes my wife and daughter roll their eyes.

I really enjoyed the most recent visit from Beardy because he and I enjoyed some quality time together earlier in October when my wife went away for a few days.

Beardy and I rarely get to visit twice in the same month. That can only really happen if something bad happens like a natural disaster or illness. I don’t always root for a surprise visit from Beardy, but it can make a bad situation better.

As a matter of fact, I don’t even like how I look with Beardy. I guess part of the thrill just comes from knowing I am doing something I can’t do on a regular basis.

That played into the excitement of the surprise visit from Beardy as we rode out the storm last week. Without Maria’s trip and this storm, I would have gone from the beach trip all the way to Thanksgiving without letting my facial hair grow for more than a few days.

Each time I rubbed my whiskers last week, I felt like I had pulled off some sort of caper. Twice in one month. I don’t even think that happened when I had a few months between jobs a few years ago.

Some people may think that I could let Beardy visit any time I want, but that’s really not an option.

First of all, I have received clear signals that a house vote would not turn out in favor of facial hair. Secondly, Beardy starts to get on my nerves after four days or so, making it probably that I would even vote against a long-term visit from my friend. I don’t even let beardy stay with me for more than three or four days when we go to the beach in July.

Beardy can get under my skin. Literally. Letting my beard grow can lead me to break out like a nervous teenager eating a whole bag of chocolate. And if you think a beard makes me look bad, just wait until you see a clean-shaven face with some big-old zits on it.

But I can’t get mad at beardy for that. He makes me too happy when we get to hang out.