<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Much to do about a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">hair cut. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">That’s a social comment and not a critique
<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Actually, I enjoyed reading this very
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">There is a droll sense of humor to
it.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">My wife cuts my hair. She is very
good The best thing about it though is that it saves a lot of time and money. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">When I was single, I let the hair grow the
way it wanted to and tied it into a pony tail. It looked horrible, but it
didn’t cost any money<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">or time. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> “Your
haircut is cute,” I heard from a stranger in line at the checkout counter. Ever
since I “cut my hair off” a year ago, I receive frequent unsolicited compliment
on my short style from unfamiliar clerks, friends who haven’t seen me in a
while, and family members who see me often. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“It
makes you look younger,” some say. “It suits your face perfectly,” according to
others. “Keep it like that,” many add.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">The
thing is, no one has cared one way or the other about my hair for the past 60
years. I’ve worn it shaggy, long and straight, with and without bangs, parted
on the side and messy with no part at all. The most I ever heard was, “Oh, you
got a haircut” or “Oh, your hair has grown.”<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">For
decades, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror wrapping my hair in spongy
curlers, winding strands around hot rollers, turning ends over and under with a
curling iron, and smoothing the waves with a blow dryer. During the course of a
normal day, I would duck into the women’s room at every chance to check the
condition of my hair. I paid too much at exclusive salons for trendy cuts; I
spent nothing and neglected my hair for years at a time; I hid my unwashed hair
under ball caps and knit caps and swimming caps; I lifted my hair into pony
tails and twisted it into French braids; I collected quite an assortment of
clips, ties, ribbons, and doo dads to decorate my mane for special occasions.
Once, I experimented with changing the color of my mop. Let me just say, I’ll
never do that again! I suffered through weeks of orange before it returned to
it’s natural brown. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">These
days, I don’t pay much attention to how my hair looks since I can’t see myself
in a mirror anyway. I’m told it’s mostly grey now. Despite my years, it still
feels thick and soft - perhaps because I only colored it that one time. Now
that I’m in my 60s, it’s beginning to thin. That’s the reason a year ago that I
decided to cut it all off. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">My
youngest daughter, my wild child, had been begging me to do “something fun”
with it for years. Having lost most of my sight as I aged, I asked my daughter
to pull up some photos of cute short styles that I could show to my trusty
barber at Great Clips. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“I’m
going for short-short,” I told her. I couldn’t imagine how my hair might behave
when 18 inches of weight was lifted off my shoulders, but I was ready for the
change. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“Jamie
Lee Curtis,” my daughter suggested. With low vision, I had no idea what the
actress looked like. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“Send
me the link so I can pull up a picture of her on my phone, I asked her. The day
before my appointment, I opened my phone and shared the photograph of this
glamorous movie star with my 70-year-old husband. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“She
looks geriatric,” he said. I “googled” Jamie and discovered in fact that she is
only three years younger than me! Who knew? Still, I decided not to trust my
husband’s opinion. I had once asked him to match some earrings to my dress, but
when my lady friend arrived to pick me up, she suggested something different. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Good choice not to trust your husband’s
judgement. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Besides, don’t you know that all men
prefer long hair on a woman?</span></u></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“Purple
doesn’t really work with green,” she commented. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">So,
I proceeded with Jamie Lee’s picture on my phone to the franchise where my new
look would only cost nine dollars with a coupon. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“What
do you think?” I showed the photo to my hair dresser, a woman of about my age.
“My husband doesn’t like short hair, and he thinks it looks geriatric,” I
added. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“What
about a bob?” she suggested. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“No
way,” I protested. “I have to wear hats outside because of the glare, so my
hair would stick out like Bozo, the clown!” My trusted and skilled barber
coaxed me to sit. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I thought this was the first time you were
going to this barber.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“I’ll
give you a cute cut,” she promised. Luckily, I couldn’t see the handful of hair
that fell to the floor with the first snip. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“Oh,
can I save it and donate it?” I thought to ask. One of the other ladies on hand
rummaged in a drawer for an envelope.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">I thought <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">that only long , straight hair had value for
wigs.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">”It’s
pre-addressed. You just have to apply postage,” she said as she scooped my long
locks into a plastic bag before slipping the bag into the envelope. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">My
stylist continued to cut away. She was getting closer and closer to my ears.
“Snip, snip.” I shivered. As the stylist combed, the little scissors shaped and
blended what hair remained with speed. Then, she took a razor to my exposed
neck, tilting my head down for a better angle. I sat as still as possible, but
my skin began to prickle with the miniscule shavings that spread like nats on a
summer night. With a warm blower, my hair lady attempted to clean me up, then
she whisked the plastic cape off of me with a “voila!” <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Did you suffer hair itch the rest of the
day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Now, do you have to shave the nape of yur
neck every day. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Delighted
by the feel of freedom, I shook my head enjoying the loss. Forgetting for a
moment, the hair dresser held up the hand mirror for me to take a closer look
at my new do, then she remembered. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“It
looks great, doesn’t it?” she asked my husband instead. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I
already knew I couldn’t trust his opinion. He took a picture with his phone to
compare the “before” to the “after.” Within seconds, he’d had sent the photo
out to most everyone in our family. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“I’ll
find out now what it really looks like,” I thought. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">As I
said at the beginning of this hairy story, the compliments have never stopped
coming since I was transformed into Jamie Lee Curtis…actually, with my short
hair, my sisters think that I look like our mother now. Dear Old Dad with
dementia also mistakes me for his wife who passed two years ago. I take that as
the best compliment of all.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></span></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="yiv3611252155msonormal" style="margin: 1em 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">If you just got the haircut, you chose the
wrong season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">It’s getting very cold. <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>