Hair Envy
I'm suffering from a slight case of hair envy. I'm finding myself gazing a bit wistfully at people with a full head of hair like the one that I was previously blessed with. Most of those people have never thought about losing their hair. I certainly never did. As they are applying their hair goop, do they consider themselves fortunate? I look at these people, and know that they probably have never even considered the possibility of losing their hair. Or the possibility of losing their health. I watch movies and I'm reminded of my situation.
Look at these impossibly beautiful people, I think, who haven't discovered enlarged lymph nodes, who haven't rushed to the doctor in a panic, who haven't faced a potentially life-threatening illness. Yet.
It's been difficult to transition from a guy with a comically robust head of hair to a guy with none.
Here's the the thing you have to understand about me and my hair. For my entire life, that more-than-abundant bundle of dead-skin cells on the top of my head has been my single defining feature. I came out of the womb with an overflowing head of hair. At the State Fair, I would sit for a cartoonist to sketch me. He couldn't fir my hair in the picture, so we had to buy two. By the age of 16, I was required by Federal authorities to turn over my shorn locks in their hope that they would discover some naturally-occuring growth hormone. In recent years, I've been approached by the Hair Club for Men to make donations.
Getting that mane under control, and suitable for public viewing would typically take me about ten minutes. Now I don't have to mess with it at all. It's gone. Completely gone. There are some definite upsides here: most notably, I can take a shower and be out the door in five minutes flat.
Look at these impossibly beautiful people, I think, who haven't discovered enlarged lymph nodes, who haven't rushed to the doctor in a panic, who haven't faced a potentially life-threatening illness. Yet.
It's been difficult to transition from a guy with a comically robust head of hair to a guy with none.
Here's the the thing you have to understand about me and my hair. For my entire life, that more-than-abundant bundle of dead-skin cells on the top of my head has been my single defining feature. I came out of the womb with an overflowing head of hair. At the State Fair, I would sit for a cartoonist to sketch me. He couldn't fir my hair in the picture, so we had to buy two. By the age of 16, I was required by Federal authorities to turn over my shorn locks in their hope that they would discover some naturally-occuring growth hormone. In recent years, I've been approached by the Hair Club for Men to make donations.
Getting that mane under control, and suitable for public viewing would typically take me about ten minutes. Now I don't have to mess with it at all. It's gone. Completely gone. There are some definite upsides here: most notably, I can take a shower and be out the door in five minutes flat.
I'll absentmindedly stroke at my bald head, just because it is such a strange sensation.. I rub it, pinch it, scratch it, moisturize it. I love feeling the sun on my head, but it sweats like crazy. The sweat flows into my eyes when I run. That's why Slick Watts still always wears a headband when he works out. He revolutionized the headband with the Sonics in the 1970's. He says once he shaved his head, the headband was a must.
"There's some substance to the style, too, you know," Slick told me.
"There's some substance to the style, too, you know," Slick told me.
I am sure you have been told and will be told that what you are going through is mormal. I am a woman waiting to lose my hair for the 5th time due to chemo and cancer that I have battled for 20 years. You will learn to define yourself as Bill Wixey the good looking funny guy, not Bill Wixey with the massive head of hair. Remember too, 6 months from now or sooner when the hair is back, you can look around at all the guys that will never get their hair back. You really are lucky in that regard. You are kicking the cancer in the **s and this will be a bump in the road when you look back on this. It will always leave a mark, but I think it has been a good one. You have learned to appreciate every day that you wake up, hug your wife and kids and live each day to its fullest. Count the blessings, not the inconveniences. Smile, its all good!
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Hey Bill -- your head is beautiful! It will be growing back sooner than you think. Take it from a 72 year old grandma whose hair left (and it did grow back) five years ago after treatment for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I'm doing fine and you're on your way too!!
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Oh my goodness, your bald head makes you look like Dad.
Keep fighting and kick cancer's frickin' butt.
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Saw you on the news tonight. Checked in to see what happened to your hair. You look great. Best wishes for a full recovery.
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OK, I may be going out on a limb here, but, I love your bald head. (:o) You look great!! Hang in there. You are an inspiration to so many; you're a class act.
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