Hair: a 2013 Reflection @abubility @lbility

This post is for Lossine and Abu for cutting their hair - not because they wanted to (they liked the curls and fro), but because they have a respect for their mother, their nation, and themselves. And I know how hard it is, because I, too, once made the decision to head to the barber.

I stopped cutting my hair in my junior year of college and, I have to admit, it got rather long. I loved it, though, and still have reoccurring dreams where I choose to grow it out again and, in 24-hour dream land, it reappears just like that. I loved the days when people made assumptions about my liberal ideologies because my locks were long and when, because I'm an imp, I could play with their thinking with my sometimes conservative values. Everything about that head at the time was political. It was central to my identity and provided many interesting conversations. I long for the time (in college and soon after) when my primary responsibilities were my studies and, because I was young, I could grow  my mop-head with resistance.

Uncle Milford and Me, late 1990s

I admit, too, that I harassed the twins about their hair for the last few months. I knew their mother had staunch opinions of how she wanted her sons to present themselves in the United States, but I also hold onto the rebelliousness of doing a head of hair in the way the individual wants to. I never hollered, "Get a haircut," although I joked with them that their hair growth had become a little while...perhaps, a bit reckless. That is probably why I was surprised they sent me a video yesterday of their trip to the salon. This was followed by pictures of their more presentable, conservative touch-ups.

It was their decision and I admire them for being young men of integrity, no matter what their main portrays.

Still, I feel for them. I know what it's like to have the coiffure that grabs the attention of others and causes them to stop, wonder, assume, and ponder. I miss those days and before I began a tradition of going Buddha-buzzed in the summer, I spent the rest of the year trying to grow my fur back of my early 20s. I also laugh because hair issues get odder as you age: rope-like hairs begin to appear overnight out of your nose, back, and ears, and just yesterday I had to trim my armpit because it looked like I was hiding poodles under each arm. We are human, yes. Yet, this man is morphing into an ape.

In honor of Abu and Lossine, I went online to watch the song "Hair" from the musical Hair. For years, I sang this song in front of my students, while running, and even in the shower. It isn't the same now that I'm an adult and, if I could, I'd have the lengthy mop back atop my noggin' again. But, those days are gone.

Thumbs up, dopplegangers. I know the decision wasn't easy.