Sunday, June 22, 2014

… history and hair dye…



This afternoon I took a walking tour with my fella. Some call it a staycation; we just think there is so much to learn about our own city even though we are from here, and I after moving away again and again have finally come home. The street we toured Carytown is part of the Museum District in Richmond, Virginia. The shopping district has returned to its art deco “splendor”. For me, I looked forward to the "behind the scenes" tour of the Byrd Theatre. Named after William Byrd II, the founder of the city, the theater was the first in Virginia to be equipped with a sound system from the time it opened on December 24, 1928. It is stilled called Richmond’s Movie Palace. I can’t recall a time when I didn’t go to the “dollar” theater which costs $1.99 and has as long as I remember (from the late 1980’s on). I have gone to the movies on dates, with friends, and for many years alone. When I lived in various apartments in the fan and did not have air conditioning, I would go no matter the movie. It’s a part of Richmond that hasn’t changed for me. Today we were able to learn about its history and even go into the film booth which was quite exciting.
Of course, I’m reflecting on this as I dye my hair black. Each time I dye my hair I wonder why I listened to all those who told me to never do it. I had dyed my hair various colors across the rainbow but once I dyed my hair black, I couldn’t imagine a reason I would ever change the color. It’s a part of me. I consider it the color I was always meant to have but just wasn’t born having.
This will be an odd ending but the two- The Byrd and black hair dye- actually do have a bit of a connection for me. There are just some parts of your life that when you discover them or leave them you realize that you were always meant to have them in your life. Richmond is my home and I can’t imagine a more complex, interesting, and even at times troubling place to live. I think my first black hair dye story may be more appropriate for another day… or at least I time when I don’t have to go rinse out hair dye.

2 comments:

  1. I've always felt the same way about my hair - that it was meant to be black. I dyed it for years, until Mother Nature finally found a way to have Her way again...and I developed a severe allergy to PPD. I can use Manic Panic, but given that it takes me two hours to achieve an actual black that lasts barely a week, it's hardly worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aww, Manic Panic Plum was my first hair dye experience. I tried to use it last year for some purple highlights but it just takes too much time.

    I would probably be willing to let it go grey if it were that beautiful kind that is silvery. I'm pretty sure mine would be mixed with blah brown... but being allergic, yikes! I've been lucky up to this point, although my hair does grow pretty quickly so I find that I need to dye it more often.

    ReplyDelete