August 30, 2016 (Tuesday)
Lately when I shower I find no hair at the drain. At first I was elated, thinking, “H-m-m, my hair is no longer falling out,” but then the realization hit me, “There is no more to fall out, at least for the time being.” My encroaching baldness has decided to take a break.
Since I seldom look at my head from up above or behind, I was almost unaware of my hair loss. The way I’ve always combed my hair functions as an unintended “combover,” at least until recently. Looking into the mirror, I appear to still have my hair. But I don’t. Oh, well, what can one expect as he approaches his 85th birthday?
Did you ever wonder why we have hair on our heads? I looked up the question on Dr. Oz’s web site. OK, here are some answers: 1. It keeps the barber employed. 2. It protects us against the sun. End of story. The rest of his article is about body hair or the lack of it. Number 3 should be, “It helps keep the head warm in winter.” Number 4 could be “It provides a place for hats.” By the way, did you hear about the two hats on a hat rack? One said to the other, “You stay here while I go on ahead.” Thanks to a church member for that one. While we are on a tear about hats, perhaps we need to wear a cap these days that says, “Make America Grateful Again!” (end of sermon).
More and more men are shaving their heads as the easy way out. Some are celebrities. A few women have followed their example, but many more have buzz cuts, almost as short as a shave. And lots of them wear short “pixies.” One good thing about today’s culture, a person can do it their own way and no one seems to care, which may mean we are paying more attention to stuff that really matters.
I can’t remember when, but I started cutting my own hair years ago. As I recall, I made only one horrible job of it, and it was on a Saturday night. The choir on Sunday morning for quite a while got a good look at the back of my head with little or no hair. At some point I switched to the “Flowbee,” which hooks up to a vaccum cleaner and does away with the mess. Works fine. The inventor of the nationally-sold product moved to Padre Island at the peak of its popularity. I don’t know if the device is still being produced, or if the man still lives in the area. I started using it in the early 1990’s, I think. I still use it. I’ve never met anyone else that uses one. The beauty salons and barber shops have nothing to worry about.
