Marriage Actually - An honest look at marriage

HIStory - Part I: “He’s Got Nice Hair”

by Bald Man on May 7th, 2007

Thus begins our tale of romance and comedy. Believe you me, I am not unaware of the Grand Irony. Those of you who question whether God might have a sense of humor need look no further. Our story begins with Kerri noticing my hair.

I’m surprised, too. But let me back up a bit…

We are Air Force Brats. By that, I mean that our youths were spent in many exotic locales as our fathers did the bidding of Uncle Sam’s whimsy. Imagine yourself growing up in suburban Atlanta, Georgia; rural Fisher, Illinois; and yes, even the Gem City itself, Dayton, Ohio. (To be fair, we both also spent time in Germany, and I lived near Panama City, Florida for a bit.) It is in this Gemmy city that we found each other… purely by chance.

I had moved to Dayton in the mid-80s during late grade school. In the five or so years prior to Kerri’s arrival, I had developed a close network of friends, most of whom I remain in touch with to this day. These were the friends with whom I participated in Latin Club, Science Bowl, Quiz Bowl, and other fantastic high school extra-curriculars, Friends with whom I played - and still play! - Dungeons & Dragons. (Before you pigeonhole me, note also that I was captain of the soccer team.)

Kerri didn’t move to Dayton until the early 90’s. It was the middle of high school, and as if that weren’t enough turmoil for a 16 year old girl, the circumstances surrounding her move were quite traumatic; her father, Rob, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and they were moving in order to have access to the medical facilities at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Bonus Drama - Her older brother was serving as a medic in Operation Desert Storm at the same time they moved. Torn from her friends and small town life Kerri was dropped into Fairborn High School. Previous class size: 36. New class size: approx. 400. She wasn’t happy, and understandably so.

Enter the winter of 1991-1992. A few months in and Kerri had made some new friends, a few of which were coincidentally friends of my own. It is my junior year, and my friend Jason and I were at the school late for one of the aforementioned extra-curriculars… I’m thinking Quiz Bowl. We had other friends on the wrestling team, so we decided to wander down to the gym where a dual meet was currently in progress. High school wrestling isn’t a big spectator sport, so we had plenty of seats to choose from. A quick scan brought our attention to one of those aforementioned new friends of Kerri’s who also happen to be a friend of my own. We head to the far end of the gym and take up a spot on the bleachers in front of said friend… and this dark haired girl WHOM I HAD NEVER MET! (That fact is important.)

We sit. We chat. We watch wrestling. At some point during the watching of the wrestling my spidey sense begins to tingle… or at least the hair on the back of my head does. I suddenly become aware of the conversation behind me, one involving said friend and the dark haired girl WHOM I HAD NEVER MET! (That fact remains important.)

I turn my head slightly and in my peripheral vision catch a glimpse of the dark haired girl WHOM I HAD NEVER MET playing with my hair! Her comment: “He’s got nice hair.” (See why that fact was important?)

What would become of such un-Puritan forwardness?

Is the way to a man’s heart really through his over-gelled, stiff hair?

Do I really think I’m this funny?

Stay tuned for answers to these and other questions…

images: nice hair | Chief Illiniwek | questions

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POSTED IN: About Us, His n Herstory