Friday Flashback

I got my hair cut this morning. I don't remember the first haircut ever, though I do remember one early one. I used to love to chew gum (still do, actually) and I was forever falling asleep with it in my mouth. My mother would pick it out of my long hair, tell me next time she was going to cut it off and that'd teach me. Next time she again picked it out of my hair with the same threat, but she didn't follow through. Then she did.

I fell asleep, gum in cheek, and woke up the next morning, gum in hair. And mom had had enough. Out came the scissors, off came the waist length braids, on went the waterworks. I cried, and cried, and cried. And, missed the school bus.

My mother didn't drive, and she had two littler ones at home. The bigger boys had not missed the bus so I was sent off, *sniff*, all alone, *sniff*, bald, *sniff*, to walk the 37 miles to school.
I don't sleep with gum in my mouth anymore. And I haven't had hair that long since.