Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the way of righteousness. - Proverbs 16:31



"Oh well a touch of grey,

kinda suits you anyway,

Thats all I had to say,

but its all right

I will get by, I will get by,

I will get by, I will survive." - Touch of Grey, Grateful Dead

I got the chance recently to touch base with a friend of mine from high school through an alumni website. Really, friend isn't quite the right word - more like "associate" or friend in a Cold War kind of way. I mean, he was a good guy and all...voted best all around, gifted musician, real knack for conversation and quite popular. I, on the other hand, marched to a totally different drummer.

In my sophomore year, I walked the halls of school with a polyester, one-eared sock puppet on my hand. Really. I was voted most likely to "lather, rinse, repeat as needed" and nearly lettered in chorus. You can see we came from very different versions of reality.

Occasionally, he would tease me but, I could never really get angry and he never let it get too personal (which I appreciated). In fact, I kind of respected him and wanted to be his friend. I was just too awkward. So, we kind of had a mutual "understanding" with one another; I would allow him to tease me in a friendly, non-combative way and he would ease me into the social circles of the kind we all wanted to be a part of at that age.

Among some of his characteristics that made him stand out were his snappy, casual kind of air and fashion style. This was the time of the skinny tie and corduroy jeans. Torn up "Chuck Taylors" and a pinstripe, long-sleeve button down shirt. Spiky hair and jean jackets. 80's cool.

I could never get the hair right. Back then, even though I tried to do something with my mop, I rode a motorcycle to school and the helmet always gave me - well - helmet head. But that guy had great hair! When he let it go long, it would feather back just right. If he cut it, it would be long in the back (for the brief moment that mullets were in style) and spiky on top. And he was always combing it! He combed his hair more than the Fonz. Which brings me to my point of all of this time-travel.

We exchanged e-mail a couple of days ago through the website which, as an additional feature, includes a recent photo of the person. He's completely bald! "The ultimate karma for all the vanity in high school," he said. After viewing my picture he said, "What I wouldn't give for a head of hair like that!" Hmm.

Now, I think he's a great guy and I'm proud for him and his successes. He's a family man and entrepreneur. He plays in some local bands and homeschools his kids. He still finds time to chat with old, grey-haired friends.

But at least I have hair!