Interview, haircut, and prom planning

Vincent started out his afternoon, after school, by interviewing church member Bob A. (pictured above top with Vincent) - for the third and probably final time - about his World War II experiences. Vincent's Western Civilization class has been studying WW2, and so Vincent continued the interview today about Bob's wartime experiences in the Navy and on college campuses. Then Vincent hopped on a bus across the 2nd Street bridge into Southern Indiana, to the hair cutting place he and I usually go to and - just a week after having his hair trimmed so it was all the same length (long) and bleaching the end of his hair - he got a crew cut shorter than probably his hair has been since middle school. (Becky [pictured above middle], Vincent and my usual hairdresser, sent him and his Mother - she stopped there on the way home - with his pony tail complete with the bleeched end. Becky laughed, saying it was unusual for parents of boys to show up try to talk their sons out of cutting their long hair. But, Stephanie said, I'm afraid he's going to wake up tomorrow and say to himself: Where's all my hair? What have I done?) People in Louisville have never seen him with his hair this short (pictured above bottom), and certainly he's never had straight teeth/no braces, been this tall and big, and had short hair. He arrived at Children's Fellowship with a fanfare - as he will no doubt arrive at school - and there was a debate whether he looks older or younger, thinner or less thin - with short hair. Although we had been skeptical about long hair, we'd gotten used to it/it seemed part of his identity. Certainly, he won't be spending so much time combing his hair and conditioning it in the morning now, as he has been. He actually also asked about Weight Watchers involvement. His hair was longer (until 5 p.m. today) than it had been last summer, and he said it was getting too hot. I talked at Toastmasters today about taking stock and making radical changes, and he certainly did that (since I don't think even this weekend he was thinking about getting it cut). By Tuesday, however, he also wanted it cut by Saturday, when he and Jessi are slated to go the prom. We spoke with the two of them and her Mom, who were all at Children's Fellowship, more about it today. And of course we prayed for Nancy, Stephanie's Mom, who's in the midst of Day 1 of chemotherapy this evening (and asked us not to call her). We thank Bob for patiently cooperating with Vincent's erratic interview schedule and wish the best to Vincent with his new haircut and Jessi with her wacky prom date. And we trust that Nancy will be strong enough to weather chemotherapy with her positive attitude in tact.