The man behind the beard
Submitted by jcht2010 on
Barry Carney is a man with a colorful past. He is also a man with what he hopes is a bright future. He’s hard to miss, with a belly-long beard and almost waist length hair. He’s usually wearing a straw fedora.
Barry found his way back to Jackson County after his mother passed away, and now spends his time at the Senior Citizens Center playing bingo and going to Bible study, as well as with his children and grandchildren, which includes helping his daughter Brittany with her painting business.
“I like to go with her,” he said, “keep her company.”
His bush of facial hair can’t hide his kind eyes, or his big smile. Barry is a man who likes peace, although he says it wasn’t always that way. He has tales to tell about a hard past and being “basically run out of Jackson County,” although he likes to focus on the future, and on God.
“God is really important in my life,” said Barry, “I know without Him I wouldn’t have any hope at all, so I just try to live to serve Him and be around people that are positive.”
He added that part of him is still “a rebel at heart.”
He enjoys being with his grandkids especially, even if they take a little coaxing.
“I have two granddaughters, Elora and Elana, and a grandson, Eli,” he said, “He’s just starting to warm up to me because I bought him some M&Ms.”
Barry said his beard makes him some friends, but not everyone is a fan.
“Some people like it, and some people don’t, but everybody has a right to their opinion,” he said, “some people want to take pictures with me because of it, and I just let them.”
He began growing it out before 2012, he said, because everyone was saying the world was going to end anyway.
“I just quit shaving,” he said, “Then when the time came and the world didn’t end, it was already so long, I just let it keep going.”
One thing is for certain, Barry is happy to be back near his children. He spends a lot of time with his daughter Brittney and his son Matthew, and believes that as long as he keeps his sense of humor and stays true to God, everything will be ok.
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