The Meeting...

She sat alone in a room filled with people. All around her was life and fulfillment, but not for her. It seemed to last an eternity, desperately waiting for that special moment to arrive...a moment she had longed for every day.

When I walked through the door, she immediately leaped to her feet. She ran to me, took me be the arm and began to excitedly speak to me in Korean. I was shocked but pleased, and although I understood little of what she said, I could see the joy in her eyes. She continued to speak in Korean as she led me to a chair. I pulled out my laptop and showed her the picture of me taken at Baskin Robbins the first week I was here. She smiled and nodded. Finally my day had arrived, and my fears melted away. Relief swept over me, and I knew that everything would finally be alright.

For a moment I was lost in thought. Then a buzzing sound in my ear brought me back to her. "Wait a second," I thought, "does she have a guard on those clippers?" It was my first hair cut in Korea. That's right, two months of growth fell to the floor. She clipped and clipped, scissored and scissored. It reminded me of that Bugs Bunny cartoon when he grows flowers on Elmer's head. I could almost hear the music. Hair flew in all directions and in only a few short minutes she was finished. There in the mirror was something I had not seen in a long long time...scalp.

The staff says they like my new hair style. I think I need a scarf. I didn't realize just how much warmth my hair had given me. It's true what they say: You never know what you've got until it's gone. Not since the little Vietnamese girl in Baltimore has my hair been this short. Do Asian people think all Americans are in the army?

If you're interested, here's that Bugs Bunny cartoon. The barber scene begins at 3:20.