A Short Story…
Although it looked as if William had been bald from the moment he was born, the reality was that he went bald around the age of seventeen. In high school he had whatever fuzz he still had shaved off. William liked to pretend he was just being “cool” and above other people. What always amazed me was that in his later years he began wearing a toupee. Of course it didn’t look real, so what was his reasoning? I’ve always been shy about asking. Many times when I’ve seen him, I pictured him as a younger version of Donald Trump. William, however didn’t have his hair taped down.
William just kind of shifted and moved his toupee oh his forehead to equal his thoughts and his status. He was big on status. His black hair toupee shoved back on his head gave a feeling of being young and joyful eager to listen to comments of others . . . but not about his hair. When his toupee was pulled down you could tell he was serious and the closer it got to his real eyebrows the more serious it became. In observing William it was best not to look directly at him. When he was being interviewed about a really touchy subject he pushed his toupee way back to fake a huge smile and shrug his shoulders like he didn’t care. Those in the know, however, always knew that he cared . . . a lot.
The scariest look was when William acted like he was laughing and just resting his chin on his right hand. It was scary because you just knew he was planning something worthwhile to him and possibly hurtful to others.
Most people always just accepted him for his looks and action, and toupee. Those people were not very bright. I remember one such afternoon years and years ago when I marched in the parade celebrating spring. I enjoyed taking part in the music and the marching. Gusts of wind plus rain didn’t ruin the parade, but it sure ruined his smile while the rain became a major gush on a head that really increased the speed of running drops along with a look of absolute hatred that still somehow increased the cruel laughter of those closely watching.
Like in today’s world, you can often tell more about a person by their actions and not about their words. One has to face the problem of William and who might be the one who would absorb the stinking cuts and hate. You would have to look down and be ready to help with lotions and bandages.
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