It's Longer Than it Used to Be

That's right.  You heard me.  I spent years being told to keep it short...in fact, it was required.  They had regulations in the Air Force, as they do in every other branch of service.  Ours was Air Force Regulation 35-10 before they decided that "regulations" wasn't politically correct enough and we went instead to AFIs...Air Force Instructions.  But I digress...I was talking about my hair.

 
 

Ah yes...hair.  We had to keep it shorter than most of us wanted to, and so we were often being told to get it cut.  I was even sent away from work twice to get my hair cut AFTER I'd just had it cut.  That was embarrassing.  It wasn't like we were Marines, with high-and-tights adorning just the crown of our heads.  No, we had much more leeway than our brothers in other the other branches.  I say brothers, because the restrictions were completely different for our female counterparts.  As a man in the Air Force, I was allowed an inch and a quarter in bulk on the top, with the hair tapering down to a quarter inch in bulk at the sides and in the back.  That meant white walls. For those unfamiliar with the term, look in a mirror and imagine about a quarter inch gap between the top of your ear and your hairline. Yeah. I know. Blocking the back, so there was an even line running straight across the neck, was preferred, even encouraged, but not necessary.  I wore my hair more or less in this style, growing it as long on the top as I could simply to show that I was still a rebel.  You see, an inch and a quarter in bulk may not seem like very much, but with hair gel, you can fit a lot of hair into a very tight spot. My bangs were so long that with my hair hanging in my face they reached my chin! While this was within my rights and within the restrictions placed on us all, I admit I was stretching things to the limit.

 

As I matured, the rebellious streak subsided somewhat, and I wore my hair extremely short, spiking it with the same hair gel I'd come to so heavily rely on when it was longer. Then, it happened. Before I knew what hit me, I was no longer in the Air Force. I was retired. A civilian. No more restrictions on my appearance "in and out of uniform." I was relieved and immediately began to grow and wear a goatee, which also, by the way, isn't allowed in the military unless you're in movie and the actor refuses to shave. I tried growing my hair long then, finding once again my inner rebel, but failing to achieve the look I wanted. I was still using hair gel and the combination of gel with my natural curly waves looked ridiculous, so I went back to short for several months.

 

Then one day, it hit me like a cyclone: lose the gel! So I began growing my hair again, this time not using any product, and was instantly pleased with the results. My hair may be graying, but so are all the rock stars I idolized growing up, so it doesn't bother me overmuch. It is longer than it's ever been and even though it tangles in the wind when my top is down on my Beetle, I love having long hair.