The Hair Cut
By PAT WICK
© Another Day in the Country
Terren got a buzz cut! He walked into the bank to tell us the news. "This is some radical hair cut," we said to the 10-year-old.
"It's the only hair cut my dad knows how to do," Terren answered matter-of-factly. And then informed us that his sister had gotten a hair cut, too.
"Not a buzz cut!" we exclaimed in unison.
"Well, she got shaved a little," he hesitates. "She said to Dad, 'Don't shave the sides,' but Dad thought she said do shave the sides so she has a little gone right here." He grins and points to the side of his head.
My dad used to tell the story of the "The Hair Cut from Hell." He and my mother were newlyweds, expecting their first child (me), and finding their first job (in California). Dad wanted to look good for his job interview but he didn't have money for a proper haircut.
"Ah, Laurel, I'll cut your hair for you and you can cut mine," said his buddy Kermet. "I'll go first."
Now Dad didn't really have any haircutting experience but he had a knack for it — sorta like I do. When he finished cutting Kermet's hair, it looked pretty good. So, with great enthusiasm Kermet said, "Your turn."
Nervously, Dad watched the pile of hair on the floor grow while the hair on his head was diminishing at a fast clip. When Kermet stepped back from his handiwork and declared his masterpiece complete, Dad headed for a mirror, groaned, grabbed his hat, and later reported, "I didn't take it off for two weeks!"
Never again did my father ever let a novice touch his hair — that is, until he came back to Ramona. His health was failing, his strength waning, and one day he said, "Do you think you could give me a little trim, Pat?"
I was nervous. I wanted to do a good job. Luckily, when we were finished, Dad took the mirror, checked it out, and said, "Not bad!"
Mom whispered, "That's a pretty good compliment coming from your father!"
Through the years, I've had two hairdressers that consistently cut my hair right and one of them is my daughter, Jana. This means that whenever I'm with her, the first thing I say is, "I need a haircut." At Christmas time, Jana picked us up at San Francisco Airport, turned and looked at me and said, "You need a haircut." Then we got busy doing Christmas rituals and when we were packing our suitcases for our trip to Hawaii after Christmas Jana said, "We need to cut your hair."
By this time, she was in a hurry. I was in a hurry. When she laid the scissors down, I headed for the mirror and felt like Dad, "Where's my hat? This needs to be either evened out or one side seriously shortened to make it look right," I instructed. She started snipping again and I started praying.
It's another day in the country, my hair has been growing for the past three months and now I finally need a hair cut — but only on one side!
