The ocean water is clean, seventy-four degrees and the surf, deceptively rough. The dog dug a hole, being a good guest; I joined Ricki in the hole. We stayed there covered with sand for an hour humming tunes, until a nosey pelican teased Ricki. We both rushed the bird. Exhausted from the two-block run, we went in the water to freshen up. When we came out, I fell on my back in the wet sand and Ricki rubbed my belly with her front paw. Then we switched and I rubbed her belly. Later, Ricki gave me an ear rub.
Our exhaustive mission to Long Beach Island left me sandy, breathless and sweaty. Ricki and I sniffed each other goodbye, and I returned to the backyard of the house to take my final outdoor shower. I’m going home today – that made me sad, but the shower softened my blues and I milked it like a final bite of a yummy pepperoni slice of pizza.
“Hang ten!”
After I took my clothes off, I teased myself. I stuck one arm under the water, noticed the difference between the air temperature and the water’s temperature, played with it, then slowly passed my whole body through the shower. While the rope of water pounded my neck, my tension eased and I looked over the shampoo selection and noticed a purplish bottle with a frog colored top. I grabbed it and read the label,
“Herbal Essences – Totally Twisted – Curls and Waves Shampoo.”
If this was true, who knew what amazing things would happen to my hair? I read the back label, it talked to me.
“With a French fusion of lavender twist & jade extracts, I’m deliciously bent and your hair is, too.”
I couldn’t stop, my heart raced.
“Are you happy go loopy?”
That’s me! I’m in love with this amazing product.
“Happiness goes round. I’m essential to a curl’s life with a cleaning that’s totally springy.
My formula fuses French lavender and jade – makes curls and waves smooth, lush and defined. Use me: lather up, have a lush moment with your curls, rinse and repeat.”
I stretched my lush moment. I’d spent the last three days with hat head – my hair stuck flat to my brain’s roof, an area rug where a wavy plush oriental once laid. Poor shampoo choice. “Totally Twisted” promised curls and waves, I took a leap of faith.Twenty minutes after drying off, my hair looked like a prairie. Waves, curls, I was bouffant; luckily it was a little windy and a bit humid, contributing to my full luxurious head of hair. I went to the Boulevard and the remarks thrown my way, made it clear, “Herbal Essences – Totally Twisted – Curls and Waves Shampoo” and me were going to be together for a long time.
Leaving the island, at a red light I heard two women crossing the street look back and check my head out as they noticed me freshly showered behind the steering wheel.
“Holy crap!”
“Look, at those curls!”
“Did you see the waves on that guy?”
Thomas Pryor’s blog: Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts
Tight Rope Moon
Sunrise
Rikki & Doxie
1873 house on 2nd St in Beach Haven
Morning
“Shipwrecked, and loving it!”
