Susan’s son John would be leaving in a few days for Iraq. She knew she wanted to do something in his honor while he was gone. She discussed it with her husband and decided the thing to do would be shave her head.

On Tuesday before he would leave on Wednesday she saw a barbershop on her way to work. That afternoon she knew it was time.

Susan walked in the barber shop and had a seat. It wasn’t long until she heard “Next” and knew it was her time. The barber was an older gentleman with a flattop. He asked her what she wanted and she said, “My son leaves for Iraq tomorrow and to show my support for him I want you to completely shave my head.”

The old barber was not used to cutting women’s hair yet also was a strong supporter of the military as he had served in the Marines himself. “Do you want it all cut at once or do you want stages”, he asked.

“I have never had much hair cut at one time. I think the most that has been cut in 20 years at a time is about an inch and a half.” Susan replied. She continued, “I would like to know what I would look like with a bob haircut. I also would like a flattop. At that point I think you could shave it.”

“Then your first haircut will be a bob.” said the barber with enthusiasm. “I will use the clippers because they will give me a better line.”

Susan had a lot of hair. It was thick. It was full. It was long. The barber took the clippers and placed them in the back even to where the bottom of her ears were. The sound of the clippers startled her. Not for long though as she noticed air blowing against her skin. Before long she had a wonderful bob haircut.

“How’s that”, the gentleman asked?

“Oh that looks good,” she responded. “please continue.”

Next he took the clippers and ran them up the sides and back of her head. She could almost not stand it as each pass made her feel better and better. After he finished the back and sides, he took his flattop comb and began working on the top. “I will use the comb to get the basic flattop, he said. “once I have gotten the basic flattop I will use the clippers freehand to give you a perfect landing strip. Because her hair had been so long, it took a lot of Butch wax to get her hair to stand at attention. In a little while, she had a flattop that would make most men envious.

“Ma’am if I say so myself, that is one great looking flattop.” Chuckled the old barber.

“It sure is,” laughed Susan. “I think I like it.” “However I came in for a headshave and I am not leaving until that happens.”

“Very well,” retorted the barber.

His next move was to take his clippers and run them down the center of the head. In a few minutes she had nothing but stubble. He quickly placed a warm towel on her head. Next she felt the shaving cream as it was applied. Soon she heard a scraping sound and felt the razor as it removed what had once been her gorgeous hair.

She couldn’t believe her head when she saw it. It was beautiful.

“How much do I owe you?” Susan asked.

“Consider it my service to my country,” he replied. “come back every other day and I’ll freshen it up for you.

That evening Susan was meeting with some friends. Each of them had children who would be deployed soon. They thought Susan was lovely with her new look. They asked where she had gotten it. Before she left them she knew that each of them would soon be sporting a nice bald head.