By the short hairs…

Allow me to wax rhapsodic about having short hair. Really short hair. 1/8″ long kinda short hair. Bzzzzz…

I first “took it all off” about three years ago. I came home late from a hard day at work only to remember I had plans out with friends that evening. And my hair looked like crap, and I had just zero energy to deal with it. So, I mulled this over while I had a drink. Hmm, I had thought about buzzing my hair before. I have a beard, so I already had the necessary trimmer, and I could even see this strategy where I would start with the longest trimming guide (like 1.5″) and see what that looked like, and then the next shortest, and then the next, until I could find something I kind of liked. Another drink, and I had swallowed all the courage I needed.

So, as per plan, I started with the longest trimming guide and buzzed my hair to 1.5″ all over. Well shoot, that wasn’t so dramatic. My hair was reasonably short already, so in some places 1.5″ didn’t take anything off at all. Did I have another drink at this point? I’m not sure. But, for some reason it seemed to be a good idea to jump immediately to the shortest trimmer guide next. *grin*

Now that is short! For the first ten minutes I don’t think I could stop running my hand over my scalp. It’s like when you lose a tooth and your tongue unconsciously pokes at the empty socket. I was amazed by the short fuzzy nap, and I could feel every little tickle of air blowing over my scalp.

So, late for dinner, shy over my baby-white scalp, curious about the reactions I’d get, I rushed out the door. I was the last person to arrive at the restaurant, and as I sat down at the table, conversation stopped as people turned to look. The girl directly across the table from me, the wife of a co-worker, exclaims, “Wow, I dig your scar!” Now, I’ve had this inch-long scar over my right (starboard) eyebrow since I was about 5 years old (car accident when I was a pup), and no one has ever said a single word to me about it until that night. Apparently scars go with shaved heads. All I needed was a big hoop earring to complete the pirate look, I guess.

So, it’s been three years now, and I’ve cheerfully kept my hair short since that time. You can’t beat it for low-maintenance, out-of-the-shower-and-run, no muss, no fuss. I like that it makes me look more butch; with my sunglasses and knit skullcap I can pull off a Jean Reno look a la The Professional. And I love that girls seem eager to run their hands across my scalp to see how it feels. “Oh well, if you must, go ahead.”