drastic haircuts and instant karma

...two completely unrelated and yet totally related tales...just recently i had occasion to cut my lengthy hair for the first time since 1975...at that time it was a quite profound Robert Plant sort of mane which of course was the fashion of the day...however, my father-in-law Howard, a crusty but lovable ex-Marine (ok...i know, once a Marine always a Marine) hated my hair, though he grew to like and respect me...early in '75, Howard received that sort of news from his doctor that no person wants to hear...cancer...a virulent, inoperable form...as many folks have had to do, we watched him grow weaker and thinner and of course, less quick to flash his big toothy grin...a few weeks before the inevitable end, i was wondering what i could do that would tickle the shit out of Howard, sick as he was...so i fell upon the plan of cutting off my treasured rock'n'roll locks, an homage to this man who had become my second father...so...i did the deed and the day came to drive the two hours to Cleveland to visit him in the hospice center (some of the most caring people i've ever met) and reveal the newly nekkid noggin...walked into his room, cap in place for the dramatic unveiling and got the usual brave smile and wave...as i said, always the Marine...went to his bedside, yanked off the hat and said , "Whattaya think of the new 'do', Howard?"...he immediately got a shocked and puzzled look on his face and said, "What on earth did you do that for?"...to which i answered, "Cuz i love ya, man...he clouded up and started crying, and of course i had to join in...then he started chuckling and made me promise to grow it back...just the sort of guy he was...and so i did, grow it back that is...for decades...but in recent years, the ravages of time began to show as my hair started the migration from my head to my back and shoulders and other areas best not mentioned in polite society...anyway...rather than eventually deteriorate into looking like a new millenium Ben Franklin, it was "scalp, meet Wahl clipper with the number one guard"...this haircut is for you, Howard...
...tale number two...
...played a show today in one of our favorite northern Az. music venues and noticed right away that one of our faithful and ardent supporters was hobbling about on crutches with a large hinged metal support device on his knee...of course, asked him what was up and he sheepishly related the following...he was coming home late one evening recently and turned onto the country lane where his house is...on the corner of the road is a church that had cut down a number of pine trees that were stacked as firewood along one of the fences of the church property...he thought to himself, hmmm...no harm in getting a little free wood for the firepit...so he hoped over the fence, hit a hole of some sort and blew out his knee...broke bones and other gruesome shit...couldn't get up to walk back to his truck...had to call 911 and wave his lighted cell phone from the ditch where he was lying so they could see him in the dark...
...i asked him the obvious question..."Do you think that God/Godess smote you for stealing from a church?"...i was not the first person to ask him that question and most certainly won't be the last...the police were so amused that they didn't write any citations...small comfort...
...he's still formulating an answer to the question...and i'm still formulating more questions...as always...
peace/out...