Where oh where has all my hair gone?

Sometimes when you decide to make a change in yourself, the people you know are surprised and shocked. They may even worry since "Drastic"changes are a warning sign for various problems. Its not that drastic of a change when you know the whole story. Having once had hair that reached all the way to my waist is a part of my past. I had my reasons for having it long and I now have them for shaving my head. Mother Nature and Father Time had slowly started taking my crown of glory about 12 years ago and keeping it in a tight ponytail all the time didn't help matters. I started to notice that I could see more skin than fur on the top while the sides were still very heavily padded with thick growth. At that time I realized that I was getting to have "Old Man" hair and that while I hate them, a comb over was a very "doable" hair style for me. That was when it was time for Heather and I to have a little chat. One of the reasons to justify my choice was the job I had planned to work over the Summer. I was going to teach Summer School at a group home for boys again this year. Having no hair in that setting is actually a safer way to be at work. One of the first things that a person in a fight who doesn't know how to fight will reach for is the hair. That is why most prison guards have shaved or close clipped hair. On my second day at the home, I had to break up a fight between 2 boys, one of whom was nearly as big as me and taller to boot. In a grappling fight I become a rock, I don't move and I don't budge, so he went for my hair which was no longer there. OK, I had made a good choice but back to the wife. Once I convinced her that it should go we didn't waste any time. She took the clippers to me with no guard on it and the tub on the floor filled quickly. When it was over she wasn't thrilled but she wasn't too upset either. Two days later I used a razor and went down to the skin. I mean "In for a penny, in for a pound" right. After 2 months I have become more used to it now myself. I no longer wonder if my hair looks goofy from a haircut, if I have bed head, or if its going to keep getting thin on top. I think that it took several years off of the way I look and I feel energized by the change.I am also not alone because I have several friends with the same need to show how good they look sans strands. My only concern is that if I am caught with Chad, Robby, and Matt all at the same time that someone will think that it is a skinhead rally. Nope just a group of men who don't need to hide under bad hairdos.

The First Post

How to begin? I was born in the mountains of East Tennessee and here I live still. I was raised to know mountain ways and gifted with the ability to use my hands to create. I think it was the way the world around me changed that allowed me to grow up fat and lazy. I have always felt lost here and would be more at home 100 years ago when the world and town I live in was smaller and filled with less. The quality in our world was either lost or pushed to the side to make way for the plastic, mass produced junk that we spend so much of our time and money on today. I would rather live in a small town where everyone really does know everyone else but those don't exist here anymore. I have thought about moving but I have family here to help support me and my wife when necessary. Besides, most of the areas where I could live the way that I want to are in the great Northwest of our country or in the far Northeastern Coast. I don't know if my wife could live there or if we could survive the loss of our friend's regular company. I am trained as a school teacher, but have had trouble getting a job as such because I don't value athletics as much as I do education. Most days I find myself wishing that I could make my living as a craftsman or in researching the past. My wife and I both enjoy the hobby of living history and all of the skills that come with them so I have some release at least for my need to create quality items. Well, that's enough for now but I will be back with more of the ramblings and ravings just hopefully not those of a lunatic.