Aug. 11, 2007 - A Narrow Escape from the Pirates of the East China Sea and the Curse of the Japanese Haircut

Number One Son had been telling his Honorable Uncle for a while that he needed a haircut and asking him where to go.  Well, when the decision to send him on the trip with the customer was made, the haircut gained priority!  So...

Honorable Aunt and Honorable Uncle decided to take him to the Japanese Spa where they have their haircut.  Honorable Uncle told Honorable Aunt, "Now make sure they don't make him look fifty years old!  Make them give him a young haircut.  Now, he doesn't have to look 17, tell them to make him look, say, 22."  Aunt says, "Something stylish.'  Uncle says, "Yes, [son] you'll have plenty of time to look conservative when you get a job, enjoy the freedom of being a student."  Number One Son starts to get concerned.  "I think he needs some blonde highlights around his face," says Aunt.  Uncle retorts, "Maybe just go blonde entirely."  Number One Son is getting alarmed now.  Aunt suggests, "Blue highlights are very popular now."  Number One Son is getting very alarmed indeed.  "No, purple would be better," she says.

At this point they pull up to the Japanese Spa and go in.  Lo and behold all the male hairdressers have these, um, pompadors.  Number One Son, you have to understand, is Mr. Conservative.  He starts looking for exits.  Honorable Aunt smiles a kind of disquieting smile and unleashes a flood of language on the attendant.  Honorable Son wonders what he will do if they bring out the hair dye - deck him and run?  He watches carefully through the whole ordeal - what are they doing???  Will he have to shave his head in Detroit on the way home?  Bald is infinitely preferable to purple in our church.

Unable to bear the suspense, Honorable Mother jumps in, "But how would you have known if it was dye - you probably couldn't read the package??"  "Oh no!  I didn't think about that!  But, it's okay, mom, it's a little unusual, but not too un-Western looking.  It's not purple!  Or highlights - horrors!"