The WalMart Hair Cut

I know it has been a long time since I have written to this blog, but tonight I have a story to share with you all:

As I sat on my couch tonight, I began to notice that my hair was much to long.  It was time that I did something about it and I decided to go to WalMart and get my hair cut.  I have often utilized WalMart’s hair stylists and feel that they do a fine job (even though I’m not keen on the idea of paying $15 for a buzz cut!).

When I arrived at WalMart, there was a girl in front of me and a lady sitting in a chair waiting to get her hair cut.  The lady who was in the chair was a rather large woman, but she had a beautiful head of hair.  Her black hair flowed from the top of her head and looked absolutely gorgeous.  As I was looking at this lady, the girl in front of me was seated and I knew I had a long wait in front of me for the stylists to finish those two haircuts.

To help time pass, I turned to see what was going on behind me.  Families, single parents, and single individuals were all going through the checkout lines watching the horrifying cost of their groceries begin to add up.  It was as I heard the beep-beep-beep of the registers that I began to hear a set of clippers going full force behind me.  I was rather confused at first as to why two women would want their hair buzz cut, and this intrigued me to turn around.  The lady with the beautiful black hair was the one quickly loosing all of her hair as it fell to the floor.  Her once beautiful head was now barren and her hair was no more.  As the stylists completed the haircut, the lady quickly slapped on a green fisherman’s cap and slowly walked out the door.  As she passed she glanced a smile at me and started on her way to the parking lot.

I was then asked to sit in the same chair that that lady had been seated in.  It was then that I noticed a soft smile on the face of the stylist.  I asked her, as always, how her day had been.  She replied that the lady before me had just been diagnosed with cancer and that she would shortly be beginning her chemotherapy.  She wanted her hair cut now so that she would not have to worry about it all falling out.  The stylist, still with a perplexed smile, went on to tell me that she just could not charge the lady for her haircut.  She felt horrible about the situation and did not feel it was necessary for someone to have to pay for something they don’t truly even want.  The lady with the beautiful black hair had offered the stylist a tip to cover for it, but the stylist respectfully refused.

Although I could go on and on about how honorable that was for the stylist to waive the charge for the haircut, I believe that there is an even greater lesson to be learned here:

When I first saw the lady with her hair all cut off and had no clue why she did so, I was confused as to why someone would do this to their head.  I could not see the beauty in what she was doing.

It was after I was told that she was a cancer patient getting ready to go through chemo that I began to see how beautiful this lady truly was.  She was beautiful in that she kept a smile on her face and decided that she was not going to let cancer knock her down, but that she would get ready and fight it out.

This was a lady who would not be considered beautiful by societal expectations, but I now believe that she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever met.

If she reads this I just want her to know:  There is no need for that green cap – show your head proudly because you truly are a beautiful woman.

This lady walking slowly past me with a smile on her face is truly an image I will never forget.

Until Later,

Josh