Watchers of my daily video may have noticed my hair is much shorter. Regular readers of the blog may recall getting a haircut is one of my least favorite things to do. My barber, Gerardo, is the best. I just like my hair long. It was some fellow 40-something friends that prompted me to return to Gerardo’s chair.
“Ralph, you know you have really full hair for someone your age,” one friend said as he labored on the ellip-tical machine at the YMCA. “And almost no gray.”
A couple of days later another 40-something guy at the Y said almost the same thing. Suspecting it was some kind of prank orchestrated by my wife, who is jealous that I have almost no gray, my eyes scanned the room to see if she was watching. She wasn’t even there.
On Saturday Mary and I attended a benefit dance. Shortly before 11 p.m. the lights were turned down and we were standing side by side near the back of the hall watching the dance floor. Suddenly someone’s fingers were running through my hair. Since Mary was slightly in front of me, I deduced they were not her fingers. Spinning around, I was face to face with another middle-aged man who complimented me on my hair and asked if I could spare some for his bald head. I didn’t need a breathalyzer to know he had had a few drinks.
“Sure,” I said. “When I get it cut, I’ll save some for you.”
Gerardo is closed on Sunday. My schedule was full on Monday. Tuesday was a day off. First thing on the list was a trip to Gerardo’s.
My wife will probably view this blog as a pathetic attempt to highlight my lack of gray. But it’s really about karma. Middle aged men aren’t the target audience I had in mind. Two compliments and one feel in less than a week seemed to be an omen.
It also made me think that at 46 perhaps I’m too old wear my hair long.
Let me know what you think.
(It is Ok to agree with my wife. In fact, it would probably help me at home if people would treat me a little harsher on this blog.)
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4 comments:
Ralph, I used to have hair like you. And I'm 26. Wearing hats more often in my late teens and early 20s left me in a crew cut mode.
Hold on to that length as long as possible.
You seem to encounter some strange people out here.
With all due respect to bucktown, strange is having a strange man run his fingers through your hair, uninvited and all.
Three things my husband considers when choosing a hairstyle: 1) How well his hairstyle matches the style of the guys at work; 2) How good his hairstyle makes him feel about himself; and 3) How happy his hairstyle makes me.
I think he's got it right.
Nothing to feel pathetic about...you should be proud of a full head of almost "gray free" hair.
I thought about your blog for a while. I used to think that only women checked out other women for clothes, hair, shoes, etc. and that men showed no interest in matters of vanity. However, could your experience show that men have as much inclination to check out other men just as women do among themselves?
Although I will say that it is a bit objectionable to have someone run their hands through your hair.
Ralph, maybe the guy just thought you were cute...
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