We can’t NOT communicate. I knew this, but was reminded of it in my textbook reading this week. We’re constantly sending non-verbal messages even when we don’t say or write a word. So this got me thinking about when I partook of the services of Hair Club. Yeah, I did that. But at the same time I was telling the kids I mentored that they are unique and special just as they are. I also had braces on my teeth. It made me feel a bit hypocritical until I realized that we all present ourselves in ways that are comfortable and unique to us. Like the song says, “accentuate the positive.”. While my skin is flesh colored, it is not hypocritical to wear the color blue. Or to wear makeup. Even to make a more permanent change like straightening your teeth, getting a tattoo, a facelift, a circumcision or something less tangible like speech therapy, which was also imposed upon me when i was very young, as though it were a necessity.  My brother, on the other hand was allowed to maintain his lisp. The fact is, nothing stays the same. Not our bodies, not our minds. We change and change, usually so gradually every day that we don’t notice it is happening. Then we look at an old photograph or meet up with an old friend we haven’t seen for decades, and the changes are obvious. We still exude our true selves in thousands of ways, though today our true self differs greatly or slightly from our former manifestation.

So what is my point?  My daughter and I watched a movie last night in which one person played several diverse characters, differentiated by accents, costumes, mannerisms, hair and makeup. And it occurred to me that this is a microcosm of our lives, in a sense. And Flash Meridian?  Flash is a character created by me, and in some ways is an allegory of me, but created 10 years ago when I had hair stuck on my head. So Flash has hair, and I found myself stymied when it came to recreating him. Would Flash have lost his hair?  Would he have to wear a helmet all the time?  Maybe, but not the way I saw him returning. I want Flash to still be Flash. So I ordered him some hair online, and thought I might as well create some other characters as well, to be portrayed by me. We have the ability to make changes in our appearance, our habits, our diet, our level of education as well as many other facets of our lives. Some changes are permanent while others are adopted for a certain time, occasion or purpose. 

I am currently taking a public speaking class online. I have to give speeches, videotape them and upload them to my teacher and class. What if I wore a blonde surfer guy wig in my uploads?  What if I wore different clothes than I would normally wear?  No one there knows what I normally look like. It’s just something I’m finding interesting to think about. What if a surfer dude  puts on a suit and dress shoes to attend a wedding or funeral. Is it a costume?  I think so. And there’s nothing wrong with that.