Zips and sneakers.


Today in church the alter server, a big young man who used to have shoulder-length hair, showed up with his hair cut about as short as mine. I wondered how self-conscious he was and whether his friends gave him a hard time. It also made me flash back to my youth and the summer rituals that we went through.


When summer arrived it was time for the summer haircut. Each year Mom would get out the hair clippers and give me a “zip”. Basically all the hair on my head was cut down to about a half-inch length. The hair style is also called a “Butch”. For a while I even used butch wax to make the front hairs stand up straight. (I still can smell that stuff!). I don’t ever remember feeling that self-conscious about this. It was just what you did for summer. I do remember some of my friends saying “Boy, you really got your hair cut!” but it was never in a teasing manner, just fun.


The other summer ritual was getting a new pair of sneakers. We would go to the discount department store – I think it was Shoppers Fair and later Topps and all the kids would get new sneakers for our summer footwear. This was before running shoes and the incredible selection we have today. I usually got a pair of Keds (now called “classic Keds”) with the little blue label on the heel. By the end of summer the soles of these shoes would be worn out and flapping.

All this mind wandering in the first couple of minutes at church. All day today I’ve been flashing back to those years. I wouldn’t be surprised to dream about it.