wild hair, don't care

I'd like to give a shout out to a grossly underrated, unsung hero of my childhood: Caroline B. Cooney.

One's dad can say "make peace with the pouf" 'til the cows come home, but nothing is going to change a middle school girl's mind that hair was meant to be straight, glossy, and controlled. Three things my hair has never been. Is not. Will never be. And after a few speedbumps in those miraculous years we call "formative" but should actually be called "punitive", I am totally ok with that. Why? Because I can lose my hairbrush for a month and it isn't a big deal. Because I can wear the same messy bun for over 36 hours. Because I can completely ignore any morning hair preparation.

Cute story, Molly. What the hey does this have to do with Caroline B. Cooney?

Janie Johnson, The Face on the Milk Carton. Sister had some hair. And it was wild. And her struggle was my struggle. And I knew it would all work out, that peace could be made with the pouf, that that funny smelling pomade wasn't worth it, that hair with a life of its own should be allowed to live. So, yeah. Any remarks about my mane, my "messy-bedhead-look", etc., will gladly be taken as compliments.

Of course before I wrote this I searched for some exact quotes from the book to back me up, but apparently that sort of thing doesn't exist on the net. Not enough demand for complete 1990's teenage angst novels for them to be available. Or maybe too much demand, and they're playing it smart by prohibiting free distribution. I did try to research some other literary heroines with wild and poufy hair, but nothing really turned up for that, either. And don't tell me Hermione Granger, because the first time anyone ever thinks she's even remotely starting to look good is when she spends an entire day straightening her hair for the Yule Ball. Not cool, JK.

I guess the bottom line is that books have had a huge part in shaping my life. My hair makes me happy, and I hope your hair makes you happy, whether it's middle school girl approved or not. Now go read books.