Never underestimate the top of your head

Excuse my vanity, but I just finished getting a hair cut that I actually like. I usually leave the hairdresser's thinking: "there's not a hope in hell that I am ever going to be able to recreate this on my own." And trust me, I don't not have the temperment to sit at the hair salon every week to have my "look" recreated.

My hairdresser is used to me now. He once tried to colour my hair, give me highlights and cut my hair all in one appointment. He won't make that mistake again soon. He spent at least half of that time telling me we were almost done as I was climbing the walls and leaving the salon for mini-breaks. Now he knows better than to schedule more than two actions at one sitting.

In Israel it is not unusual (unfortunately) to see women sitting around OUTSIDE their hair salon's with their heads covered in foil and hair colour dripping down the sides of their faces. Most of them are also smoking or talking on their cell phones. At first you think to yourself: "How embarrassing. Way too much personal information here." But, next thing you know, you become so used to it that you are doing the same thing and it seems perfectly normal.

It's interesting to note that my hairdresser, Yossi, has no hair. In typical Israeli male style, he shaved his head at the first sign of male-hair parking lots. He actually looks good that way and I guess that saves him time from working on his own hair when he should be working on mine.

Yossi also has another story. He was one of the real participants in the story behind "Waltz with Bashir", an Israeli animated movie that was recently up for an Academy Award. He doesn't like to talk about his army experience much. Lebanon in the early 1980s does not bring back good memories for the soldiers who were there. Let's just say that Yossi's scars are definitely deeper than what you see on his arms.

That might make one wonder if it is a good idea to give a guy like Yossi scissors. The only testimonial I can offer for him is that I have known him for almost seven years. The percentage of good -- if not better -- haircuts I have received from him well outweigh the bad ones. On the other hand, my mother doesn't like him but that could be for any of 1000 obscure reasons.

But the bottom line is this.He cut and coloured my hair today in record time and I left really happy.