Pink Hair, Opera and My New Hero - from "Pink Hair & Chocolate Cookies"
Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2008
by Laura Lavigne
TreeHouse Coaching
My friend Cheryl and I had treated ourselves to a fabulously fun performance of Aida", Elton John and Time Rices rock version of Verdis opera.
Hanging out in the main hall during the intermission, we were high on the energy, the music, the people, the decorum of it all.
As we stood talking, I spotted a short head full of the most enticing shade of pink hair. Being a sucker for both colored hair and most hues of pink, I twisted my neck around a few times in order to try and see the face below the mane. When I finally was able to catch a glimpse of it, I was amazed and delighted to see that it was the face of a very old woman.
So, I walked towards her with no idea of what I was going to say. She saw me approaching and welcomed me with a grin so warm that any self consciousness left me and words just came out of my mouth; I said:" I just wanted to tell you how beautiful I think your hair is". As she laid her hand on my arm and thanked me, more words came out of me, most likely expressing what I had been wondering all along: How did you decide to get pink hair?!"
You see, I just love to know what makes us do what we do. What makes us tick. I grew up thinking that this was a rude and nosy pre occupation, until I discovered a wonderful profession where I actually get paid to find all of this out. Lucky me.
Anyway, the words were out and I could only hope that my lovely new cotton candied hair friend would not find them neither rude nor nosy.
She did not.
In fact, she seemed thrilled to tell me her story.
It went like this: a while ago, she auditioned as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She got the part and was asked what she would think of getting her hair dyed pink for the show. She loved the idea, dyed her hair this amazing shade of pink (not so wimpy as to be a mistake not so bright as to be jolting) and enjoyed the heck out of the attention she was getting offstage. She told me that little kids would come up to her and smile and ask to touch it and that even grown ups got cheered up". After the show ended, she had gotten so used to cheering people up just by walking by" that she never went back.
According to her, that was two years ago; according to her much younger friend who joined us half way through our conversation, it was more like ten.
That does not matter. What matters to me is that this woman decided to become a living billboard for Joy, for Fun, for Different, for What the Heck", for Why Not" That she chose to walk around and gift everyone around her with a dose of Silly, a dose of Beautiful, a dose of Magic.
This week, she is my hero.
I wish I had had more time to talk with her, I bet there is so much more she knows and would have maybe shared with me with a giggle.
So here is to her, to her magnificent old young self.
And here is to us, also.
May we find that fearless, joy-filled and generous part of ourselves and become more familiar with it each day. May we dare to do what is just not done and delight in its sweet aftermath. May we dare to stretch so that we may grow. May we dare to be big, funny, different and vulnerable. May we dare to go our own shade of PINK.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Laura.Very fun to read and a nice point made. It would be wonderful if everyone were committed to creating more joy.Dianne
Great story. I enjoyed it. I can just picture that little old lady with the pink hair--too cute!thanks for sharingand Welcome to searchwarpSandra
hi laura,this was a very well written, interesting, funny, and thought provoking article. what more could one want? very good job, and a great topic to write about. thanks for sharing, and i hope you continue writing,best regards,sue thom
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