He chooses my hair color.

You are looking askance?

Well, within tolerance levels (we�ll skip all the primary and fluorescent screamers, thank you.)

But, that said, while grocery shopping he periodically gets the opportunity to lean over and go��how �bout that color, dad?�

Let�s go back a bit, shall we?

Dating myself here. But around the time of my mid-teens, I went to see a show in Boston, Mass. at the Orpheum Theater� from a band I had been importing on vinyl for a while.

This was the first time, I had seen any of the various crews I was fond of at the time�and they were called The Clash. [Later, cuts from that show ended up on their US breakthrough album, London Calling.]

Anyway, for some reason I really liked all the silly-damned earrings and messed up looking hair that I saw at that show�and soon I was a fashion disaster for Southern Vermont (then nine earrings in my left ear�now down to a nice quiet Gonzo Parent seven.).

I have messed with my hair ever since. It has been long-and-white-boy-dreadlocked (circa �85ish�and damn if they didn�t look like matted dog hair, and yes, I washed it daily, thanks again,) followed by half a head of dreads (on the right) that gave way to a single dread out daback DaSauce head (kind of a Krishna cut, Ned.) You get the picture.

Today I am happily shorn and have been that way about/since a few years back caused a wild-wanna-grow-my-haid-out. I generally have 3/8�s to a half and now make the facial hair grow in odd paths.

So back to daKid, he often can choose what hair color I use. The one I liked least, of late, was a deep raven-black that seemed almost blue. I did the eyebrows and facial hair while at it? Man. I was DaGroucho. It was hideous and all I could do to wait a couple of weeks to change it. Didn't wanna hurt his widdle feelings. Grin.

Tonight, while shopping on our lovely way home, we stopped and got various and sundry. And I asked him to pick out a color.

Now you realize all of the above, right?

So why did it make me tense when he asked me to pick one in exactly his color? His hair is deeply similar to a particular shade from L�Oreal�their F�ria 93 for those keeping score at home. I have a �dad, it is strawberry-blond� ginger-haired lad. His head color is nearly identical to my facial hair�and I have a number of redheaded uncles (so I wasn�t tense about his being a by-blow from the Asian Mailperson, a final thank you.) Red is a recessive trait�and his mom musta had some in her lineage somewheres.

But, for a moment, it made me tense.

Go figure.

We bought the color anyway or as a result.

Hair coloring party for one?

--DatSoonToBeStrawberryBlondSauce