The Devil’s Haircut

I had to get my haircut yesterday and it was not a pleasant experience. If you have read any amount of time you may know of my peculiar feelings about personal boundaries. I don’t like strangers getting so close to me and it causes me a great deal of anxiety. Haircuts mean that a stranger has his/her hands in my hair and upon my scalp. I also abhor the small talk you must endure and participate in while getting through these experiences. I guess I must come across as so anti=social. I just can’t help it.

I have been putting it off for weeks and finally had to get a haircut for work. My hair was growing untamable and wild and harder to blow dry with the passing of every day. I called mom and asked her to get me an appointment with her hairdresser. She sighed with relief when I had finally given in as she has wanted me to get my haircut for weeks.

“You will feel better after you get your haircut,” She said. “It will only take a few minutes and it will be over.”

“I know it seems like a simple thing for you,” I replied. “But this will make me so anxious all day that I will be miserable.”

“Let me go down with you,” She said. “Afterwards, we will go get something to eat.”

“Okay,” I replied and hung up the phone.

Mom drove over and we then drove the short drive down to the hair salon in the same shopping center as the Piggly Wiggly. The hairdresser, Rhonda, motioned for me to come and sit in her chair, and she would then get busy cutting my hair. I walked towards the chair with tunnel vision. My palms were sweaty and my forehead was moist from nervous anxiety. I sat down in the chair and closed my eyes as she began the work of taming my wild locks. Within moments, I opened my eyes and it was all over. I looked like a new man in the mirror. I pulled out my wallet and paid Rhonda, and then walked out, relieved to have that over with.

Mom and I then went down to Captain D’s and ate supper. We both quietly sat there as we ate our fish platters.

“I know you are glad to have that over with,” She said as she smiled and broke the silence.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I feel as if a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders.

We finished our meal and made our way back up through the Valley to home. I thanked mom for dinner and for the support. I then went inside and sat in my lounge chair and let out a huge sigh of relief. Another momentous hurdle had been jumped.