Haircut

I now have short hair - or at least what passes as short hair for me. My hair is in fact the shortest it has been in well over 12-13 years. My only hope is that it will grow - quickly. To say that I am grieving would be an exaggeration, but not by much.

I miss my hair, I miss knowing that it is there, I miss being identified, at least in part, as the teacher with the really long hair. Just a few minutes before I went to the student lounge at Fleming College to get it cut, I heard a student as we passed in the hall say to his mates - "That dudes got some sick hair!" or at something like that. I will miss those comments as I walk thought life.

I have known Wally - my barber for quite awhile. Not that we see each other very often. In fact it has been, by my rough calculations,  about 10 years since we last talked. I use to go to Wally's to get my hair trimmed every moth or so. People seeing me go in would wonder why I, after being in his shop for 10-15 minutes came out with nothing cut off. In fact people use to ask me if Wally had refused to cut my hair.

What most folks didn't know was that Wally had for a few years been helping me let my hair grow long while still looking respectable. It was an almost impossible task but he did the best he could. When I decided to get my hair cut to raise money for the Save The Net Campaign there was no one I could think of to cut my hair except for Wally. I felt as if I owed him that much.

It was great to see him and to know that we could still enjoy sharing a few stories as he "trimmed " my hair.

Getting my haircut in front of a handful of students, in a very public place was weird, uncomfortable and almost unpleasant. I think I like to have a bit more control over things than I did. But I gave my word; I had collected somewhere $400; it was too late to say no.

There is a plus side to all of this............. I can comb my hair! For the past eight years I could only use a brush - a comb could never get through the tangled hair - at least  not without ripping out chunks of hair. I had a shower this morning and it was fast. I am sure I saved at least 5 minutes of hot water. I should be able to retire a few months earlier just on the savings from the reduction in shampoo and conditioner alone.

The reality is that in spite of the fact that it is 1-2 inches shorter than I had envisioned, my hair is freer now than at anytime in the past 5-6 years. Because it got so easily tangled, it was almost always braided or tied behind my head. I seldom got to feel the freedom of it blowing in the wind..... it was just too much work to comb/brush afterwards. So as short as it is - it now does move in the wind and that feels good.

And it will grow - won't it?