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Carol Perkins: A Face with the Voice

Previous Column: Sounds of Aging

By Carol Perkins

I closed my eyes as the hairdryer warmed my scalp on that frigid day that I had my hair done. That's what I call it: "Having my hair done."

With my back to the hairdresser's station beside me, I listened to her and her client's conversation. It was unavoidable. The lady asked the hairdresser interesting questions, which led to whether or not she went to church. I've never had the nerve to witness to a stranger.

The girl said she didn't, so she continued asking about her faith. The conversation continued. I learned the customer had made a career in the military and lived with her mother. She was seventy years old but sounded much older, I thought, as I gauged the way she sounded to my age.


Picturing this lady as the hairdresser continued to cut her hair, I imagined a petite woman with very short hair and the scratchy voice of a smoker.

As my hairdresser continued, the lady commented on how pretty the back of my hair looked. I was facing away from her and the mirror, so I smiled at the compliment.

She said that she had attended a cosmetology school but decided it wasn't the right career for her. In ten minutes, this woman had told enough that I pictured a brassy but kind woman who had never been married or had children. Her job had been a caregiver for the last few years.

As the conversation continued and the hairdresser finished the cut, I heard the lady say, "Will you trim my mustache?"

An entirely new picture formed of a woman who suffered from facial hair.

"I need to get rid of it, but I've had it all my life."

I perked up. Now, I saw a short, brassy, retired military woman who had spent her life dealing with a mustache and her mother.

"Can you wash my hair?" she asked the reluctant hairdresser, who then led her to the washbowl in the back.

Eager to put a face with the voice, I was glad she didn't leave before I finished. The hairdresser and her client passed by my chair and the voice still complimented my hair. However, the face that went with the voice stunned me, and the pieces fell together.

The voice and my perception of a short woman with a brassy and obviously somewhat female voice was wrong. Standing before me was a 6'3" man.


You can contact Carol at carolperkins06@gmail.com.


This story was posted on 2025-01-23 14:53:40
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