(whispered voices) "Look at that girl's hair... its got all kind of shells and stuff in it."
"How much of that is your real hair?"
"Can I ask you a personal question?... Why do you punish your hair?"
"What is that? I mean, how do you do that?"
"Those are the most beautiful dreadlocks I have ever seen!"
How long will I keep them in? beats me. I guess til' some sort of inspiration strikes. Or when I get lice. Or when I receive many more negative than positive comments.
Who will love me now? I wondered. Will anyone want to stroke my hair again? I didn't know the answer, so this act was like taking a vow of chastity. And I didn't care. I just wanted to stroke my hair myself... The dreads are so cool: no wonder two people in Saint Louis wanted my secret. Like snowflakes, each dreadlock is different, has its own configuration, its own breadth and feel. It's like having very safe multiple personalities. (anne lamott)
The night before I graduate from Dordt, May 2007, Henderson's bonfire- Andy, Jeremy, and Josh valiantly take the second-to-last shift of dreading...
May 2007, Road trip in Suburban to WA
August (?) 2008, Sioux Center, IA
September 2009, Canoeing with Jeremy near Mt. Vernon, WA
June 2010, Family Cabin time near Ortonville, MN
May 2011, visiting family in Chicago, IL Dreadlocks make people wonder if you're trying to be rebellious. It's not as garbling and stapled as a tongue stud, say, or as snaky as tattoos. But dreadlocks make you look a little like Medusa, because they writhe and appear to have a life of their own, and that's scary...
Mostly, people see someone with dreadlocks, especially a white person with dreadlocks, and assume that the person's hair carries with it a position or a message--the message being, Maybe you don't have as many prejudices against me as you do against black people, but you should. Most people, if asked, might wonder if perhaps dreadlocks are somewhat unpatriotic--isn't it unpatriotic not to comb your hair? The tangles are so funky, and who knows, they may harbor bugs and disease. Perhaps to some people dreadlocks indicate confusion of thought and character: good children have shiny combed hair, while bad children, poor children, loser kids, have busy hair... (anne lamott)
5 comments:
I'll still give you a positive comment. :) I like em.
i don't know what not combing your hair has to do with dreadlocks.
i feel unpatriotic already. anyway friend, i have much catching up to do if my dreadlocks are to look as good as yours. and for that, i am unpatriotic.
I love anne lamott! I was able to see her a few months ago and laughed pretty much the entire time.... I'm glad the dreads are still going strong.
Keep them up!!! Where else would you hide money when you go on trips?
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