One Curl Merle

As a parent, you get sort-of used to the silly or stupid questions people ask you about your child. I frequently get, "Oh, he's a big one!" or "He doesn't miss many meals, does he?" or "Does he look more like your husband?" or "Isn't he going to smile?" I usually just smile and say something short and sweet and walk away.

Over the weekend, I got one of the oddest questions I have ever heard. A middle-aged woman came up to me in the grocery store and said, "Why is his hair like that? I mean, did you do that on purpose?" I wanted to say, "Bite me" or "Step off, bitch" or "Why is your hair like that?"

I should explain. My son does not have much hair. He has been pretty much bald since birth. Basically, all the hair he has is just filling in the hair-area on his head. It doesn't grow very fast or very long. Except for one piece. Without any coaxing from me, there is one lock of hair behind his left ear that has grown longer than the rest. When it is wet, it hangs down to his shoulder, a good inch past the rest of his hair. When it is dry, it is one single curl. The rest of his hair is stick straight.

Many people have said to me, "Why don't you just cut it off?" Well, because I think it is funny (and what is parenthood if you can't laugh at your kids), cute, and unique. And it allows me to call him "One Curl Merle," which cracks me up. And it will provide endless funny stories when he brings girlfriends home.

So, I looked at this nosey woman and said, "We keep it that way for religious reasons" and walked away. When we passed in the frozen food aisle, the woman wouldn't make eye contact with me. I really hope she spent the rest of the day trying to find out what kind of crazy religion I belonged to and how dangerous we were to the community.

Funny, because the only religion I belong to is the Church of Mind Your Own Damn Business.