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Turn on your sound, go to the bottom of the page, click the arrow in the Player and listen to an oldie but a goodie: Hair and Kookie!Kookie Lend Me Your Comb
Autumn has arrived and slowly the signs of the end of summer are beginning to show. It’s getting dark earlier, kids are in their houses doing homework instead of riding bikes, and school buses are on the roads in the early hours of morning. This year, following an increasing trend, there is a mix of Halloween costumes, decorations, and treats mixed in with the ever bigger selection of Christmas decorations and holiday shopping enticements. I’m conflicted about this because I like time for each holiday by itself. First I want to enjoy Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and finally, devote lots of time and attention to Christmas. I like the quickness of Halloween – it’s really just a few days of candy and costumes – then I want time to forget the Thanksgiving turkey before the Christmas one hits the oven. Halloween seems like an autumn rite to me, and Thanksgiving the official start of the holiday season. I love the holiday rush and I’m not able to enjoy them as much when they are all jammed together. I don’t want to see a kid out on beggar’s night dressed like a ghost, carrying a pillow sack for collecting candy, holding a candied apple in one hand while walking in front of a display of the Christmas Manger. For me, Halloween is an autumn holiday with pumpkins, candy corn, apple cider, ghouls, ghosts, princesses, witches and all of that stuff.
But Fall is on the way, the leaves are beginning to change, and everything looks beautiful with the red, gold and orange colors. But about those leaves — they are falling all over the yard, sticking to the bottom of our shoes, coming into the house and bringing bugs in with them. Autumn is not something I’m ready for just yet. I want sun, warm weather, green leaves on the trees, blooming flowers, chirping birds, hiding stink bugs. Actually, dead stink bugs would be preferable.
I have a sure fire plan to stave off autumn for a few weeks which always works; it’s tried and true and I’ve perfected the process. As soon as I switch the summer stuff out for the winter stuff in my closets and drawers we will have a beautiful Indian Summer. If I throw in washing the windows we’ll get an excess of rain so I’m going to let that one go.
Unfortunately, I know it’s time for a little bit of autumn cleaning all over the house, including all the drawers and closets as I switch the clothes, and since it’s been too rainy and cool most days to do much else, I got to work. I thought it should be pretty easy because I’m an organized person. I’m also not a saver and I’m not good with drawers or closets that are overstuffed. My theory is that if something isn’t worn or used for 2 or 3 years it is unlikely to be worn or used again so those things get donated if they are in good condition and thrown out if they aren’t. New stuff would look better in its place and I love to shop. Scott claims that many years ago I sold his favorite winter jacket, a camel colored car coat, in a garage sale for $3 but I think I got $5 and I don’t believe it was his favorite jacket. I did, however, appreciate the additional space in the coat closet.
My first task would be simple: bring out the sweaters, put away the bathing suits. Exhausted after this task I picked up a book, read a paragraph or two, and took a nap. The next day I tackled the storage shelves in the laundry room and the drawers in the bathroom vanity.
In the laundry room I found 27 Velcro hair curlers, 6 curling irons, 12 hair barrettes, 8 plastic hair bands, 10 decorative hair combs, 2 clip-on hair bows, 17 long silver hair clips, 4 packages of unopened bobby pins, and a large bag of about 50 permanent wave curlers. I also found 4 bathroom rugs that I’d saved in spite of them being worn out and not matching anything in the bathrooms, a big tabletop clock that has a company logo on it, no batteries, and is, quite frankly, indescribably ugly, a wealth of felt covered, wire, and pant/skirt hangers, five plug-in chargers for various things that we no longer know what or where they are, 5 flashlights and a couple lanterns in case the power goes out and we can remember where the batteries are kept, touch-up paint for the front door we had five years ago, and all the beach towels I couldn’t find this past summer.
The bathroom vanities yielded rusted cans of hair mousse and hairspray, an unopened jar of hair freezing paste, 4 combs in varying colors and sizes still in the original packaging that I swear I never saw before, 3 round hair brushes that appear to be exactly the same and not any different than the one I currently use, and a gigantic flat iron. There was also all the newer stuff we use now or believe we will use soon, someday, probably, or possibly.
You may be drawing a couple of conclusions here: that I am not as organized as I have claimed, and that I am more of a saver than I have implied.
You could also get the impression that I am a hair stylist. I am not, and most of these items have never been used. I have only used a couple of the curling irons, no more than 8 of the Velcro curlers, and few long silver hair clips. I bought the rest in case I might need them someday.
We did use the permanent wave curlers back in the 70’s when Scott decided that growing his hair out and wearing a perm would be appropriate for the Disco Era especially if he wore his leisure suit. One would have thought that he’d know better than to let me give him a perm, inviting a friend to assist no less, after his initial Hair Style by Lynne back in the late 60’s. He needed a trim and I told him I could do it and went to work. In fairness, he did question the final look but I assured him that he looked great. The following day his co-workers asked if he was preparing for life as a cloistered Monk. They also asked if the bowl used atop his head as a pattern for the haircut had been destroyed as they would not want to visit and be served food from the same. They remained strangely quiet about the perm. He eventually went to a hair salon for his haircuts and perms once he realized that my hair styling license was imaginary.
He’s Got the Look………….
This coming week it’s going to be sunny and in the high 70’s or low 80’s so my tried and true process has worked. Scott is still golfing so he is in a really good mood. He even went for a haircut at the salon and his hair looks great. I do think it’s the kind of haircut I could give him here at home. All I need is some hair clippers.
