Shearing Narcissus

by Skye Moody

Liv Fun: Vol 6 – Issue 1

Every public appearance feels like the first. Stomach lurches usually strike days or even weeks before the actual event, as, gripped with stage fright, I imagine standing metaphorically naked before an audience that expects me to enthrall them.

I recall the old Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

Never a Boy Scout, being a girl, I was in fact thrown out of Brownies at age seven for some act of insubordination. Sure, I wore the uniform and beanie, but it was a ruse.

Some years ago, preparing for an important public appearance, eager to look the part of a first-time author delivering wisdom to her audience, I decide to visit a hair salon for some advice on what wisdom looks like.

“Do you think,” I ask the hairstylist, “I should cut off all my hair?”

It’s long, blonde and naturally wavy. A lot of fluff, which, attached to my petite physique, inevitably consigns me to the “Little Miss Princess” stereotype; not at all me.

The hair stylist backs off a yard or so and looks me over, head to foot, before shaking his head.

“Naw,” he says decisively, “you should keep the hair because you’ve really got nothing else.”

Really.

Before this, I’d been told on occasion that I was intelligent, beautiful; my photograph had appeared in magazines and newspapers; my ideas and opinions were quoted, and a stint on the TODAY Show drew offers of everything from posing nude for Penthouse (thanks, no) to writing another book about the exploitation of American workers. I was proclaimed a “real author,” and no one had ever told me that the only asset I possess is my hair.

Deeply stung, I succumb to a mere color tweak by the hairstylist, and then hurry home to wallow in this newfound “meh” identity. I am nothing but a tress, and not so glorious at that.

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Liv Fun

by Leisure Care
Spring 2017
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Shearing Narcissus
by Skye Moody

Every public appearance feels like the first. Stomach lurches usually strike days or even weeks before the actual event, as, gripped with stage fright, I imagine standing metaphorically naked before an audience that expects me to enthrall them. Some years ago, preparing for an important public appearance, eager to look the part of a first-time author delivering wisdom to her audience, I decide to visit a hair salon for some advice on what wisdom looks like.

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The Gender Games We Play

by Brad Jensen

Imitation … it’s often said to be the sincerest form of flattery. It’s how we begin our lives, watching and learning from those around us. We observe our parents and siblings, soaking in the way they make their way through their world. And we follow suit. As we get a little older, our circle becomes a little bigger. With every interaction, our psyche is learning how to function in society as part of our journey to becoming autonomous, self-sufficient adults.

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Just Say Yes

by Nancy Gertz

In the words of Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” On our own private stage, we live out this reality in every scene and every conversation. We all want to be understood, and we want to be heard. We seek validation and real connection, even when we aren’t terribly aware of these basic drives.

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