Friday, July 27, 2007

It happens that quickly

A couple weeks ago I shaved my head bald. This is not uncommon. I used to do it every two weeks. Now I wait a few months in between, developing a thick shag before I cut close and start again. I haven't paid for a haircut since I was 19, and have saved an assload of cash that way.

But this most recent shave was significant. I shaved off my calico blond/brown/red hair, and in its place grew back hair with a new feature--a touch of gray just above both ears.

This shouldn't be surprising. I'm 38 years old. Most of my long-time friends have been gray or balding for quite some time. Guys five or six years younger than me are balding or gray. But I was shocked. I had to look twice. I couldn't believe it.

Cha saw it a couple days ago and freaked out. She was playing with my hair, she gasped, she grabbed, she turned on the light. I knew what she was looking at. "Stop playing with my gray hairs," I said.

"I'm married to an old man," she said.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

welcome to the club (I think we are the same age, if I'm doing my math right). I've had the occasional silver hair for almost ten years, and the percentage keeps increasing. My sideburns are nearly white, and a big patch of my beard is too. Oh well.

I hope you spent all the no-haircut money wisely, like on S, D & RR, and not on stocks and bonds....
:)

Geoff said...

that no-haircut money went to S,D and Thai food. And red wine. And it will continue to do so, aging process be damned.

I think you are a month my senior, if 'blog reading memory serves.

Nick said...

Ha ha! You've got 3 years on me, but none in sight here yet! Did she offer to comb through and pull every one out? A sort of asian thing.


And regards to Heavy Metal:

What's wrong with being inconsistent? What, is everything set in stone? If you can't change your mind then you are gathering moss. I'd say, objectively as one can be, that AC/DC, Queen, Kiss, GnR & Led Zep all deserve a place in the pantheon with Black Sabbath as god position. All the other bands are minor squabbles. Like Priest ain't bad, just not as good as the others. And Motorhead had warts. We need to agree on time and place for me to inject you with music--I can see that you haven't heard songs from Axlz Chinese Democracy. Against all odds it kicks so much one-legged ass it is unreal. IMO.

Anonymous said...

if you fear gray hair, I think you are starting the wrong new job!!! ha ha ha Nothing causes more gray than TEACHING!!!!! (I'm suprised you aren't "steve martin" white after all those years teaching at towson!!!

:) jv

Geoff said...

Black Sabbath? K think they suck now--of course I kid!

I think just deciding to be a City school teacher gave me these gray hairs.

Anonymous said...

Geoff, you do realize that, thanks to this post, I must effectively end our friendship immediately.

Old man, indeed.....

;-)

Geoff said...

I've lost friends for less. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

I know when I first got a white hair, it was when I moved up to NYC right after 9/11 and couldn't find a job, it was very stressful. And I had one bright white hair and almost couldn't get rid of a weird squinty tick in my one eye. Stress definitely killed that hair follicle. But what's funny, is that that was years ago and it was gone, I tried to find it but couldn't. Then just after before the wedding I had another white hair, that too was from the self-imposed stress of trying to have the absolute perfect wedding day. My father put that naive dream to rest just by wearing a Six Flags t-shirt under his see-through Barong Formal shirt. Oh well, at least it makes for funny stories. And laughter is the cure for grey hairs.

Geoff said...

You had a white hair? You're a spring chicken!

Of course Dadong's Six Flags shirt could give anyone a few white hairs. And they show up much more clearly when your hair is black.