The Haircut....

When Ben joined the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, he knew someday the hair would have to go.  Today (May 25, 2006) was that day.

As we all know, Ben LOVES his hair.  It had become part of his persona.  It had not been cut in a long, long time.  In fact, Roger (Ben's dad) had to go way back in the photos to find the last time Ben had had a haircut.  The best he could figure, the last trim was in mid-2003, about the time this photo was taken.

Ben decided since the hair had to go anyway, it should go for a good cause.  He elected to have his hair donated to Locks of Love, an organization that fashions human hair into hairpieces for "financially disadvantaged children 18 years and under suffering from long-term medical hair loss".  Since he was going to lose far more than the 10" minimum, we were all set.  Before we headed off to the salon (pardon the pun), here's another couple of photos of Ben's hair.  The photo on the left was taken just a couple of weeks ago, just before the band banquet.  The photo on the right was the morning of the 25th.  It's the traditional "Last Day of School" photo.

The morning of the 25th was filled with final exams and the last day of classes.  Since Ben was flying out to join the Scouts early the morning of the 26th, the time was ripe for lopping off the locks.  After lunch, the entire family trooped to Fantastic Sams for the cut.  Fantastic Sams is a great sponsor of Locks of Love.  Here's one last look as we entered the store.

Once in the store, there was no turning back... 

The hair was carefully combed and and tied off.  To minimize blood loss, I guess.

And then, THE CUT!  Ben said he could feel it, but we didn't hear any screams.

After just a few snips, Ben's beautiful mane was gone.

After just twenty minutes or so in the chair, the experience was over.  Ben took a couple of last looks at the hair, and, after a final goodbye, we were on our way. 

(Roll your mouse over this photo to see the difference!)

All-in-all, we think it came out pretty well.  We'll miss Ben while he's gone this summer.  You can follow the journey of the Madison Scouts, or see Locks of Love or Fantastic Sams by following the links at the top of this page.