Memoirs of an Amnesiac

As a young child, I never had a long hair. I remembered I had an uncle who was so fond of me that he always wanted to cut my hair and named it the "Boracay Cut." I don't know what the rationale was about the name but I did remember crying each time my precious crown of glory was snipped. What took me so long to grow could just be cut by an uncle whose fondness and somewhat disdain for manes had been noteworthy.

When I was in my teens, I made sure not to see that uncle often. He would often quip, "Hey! I missed you! I haven't seen you around. Did you just grow your hair long? Can I take a look?" I never did once let him see my hair, let alone touch it.

My precious mane had been a symbol of my attempts at working hard at something and sticking to it. I would gently brush it several times at night. We all know those 100 brush strokes right? You could say I was an advocate of that. Then there were also times when I didn't get my goals that my mane became some sort of rebound. I would have it cut, about shoulder length. For a few days, I would admiringly look at it and then avoid mirrors regretfully for having wasted what took me too long to grow. I also tried hair growers. But had to quit after the bottle was finished. It's either that I noticed my hairs were falling or that I could no longer buy another bottle.

I also like seeing men with long hairs. For me, they look really cool. I once had this friend who has a very long hair. He told me he wanted to have his hair cut and go bald because his girlfriend left him for another man. I said it would be a great waste and promised to introduce him to another girl just so he wouldn't get to be so desperate. I'm glad he listened to me.

I've met many men who were more meticulous about their hairs than most long-haired women I knew. I don't know what it is with men and their long hair. Most of the time though they get stereotyped as someone who plays in a band or a geek. (The last time I've seen Albert Einstein, it wasn't only his hair that was long. His mustache and sideburns were bushy, too.)

More than just an adornment to one's scalp, hairs are great insulators. I could never forget one lesson on first aid about the only way to rescue someone who got electrocuted (aside from pulling the plug) by grabbing his/her hair. Although hairs are considered to be dead cells and when one dies they're the hardest to decompose, I still admire that additional part of the body.

Unconsciously, I'm stroking my hair as I'm finding words to end this composition.