A Very Good Deed...

Emelia, having her hair measured to donate.

ONCE UPON RAPUNZELS

First, it was my granddaughter, Emelia

whose flowing blonde tresses

whipped the air long and loose

during tae kwon do maneuvers

or was up in an elegant bun during dance recitals

or pony-tailed on the basketball court

or neatly French-braided in the classroom

A fifth-grade girlfriend came to school

one day sans her long dark hair

and when Emelia asked why she had cut it

her friend said she donated her hair

so a child with cancer

could be given a wig of natural hair

Emelia was so impressed

about what her friend had done

that she told her mother

she wanted to cut hers also, but

twice she made appointments

and twice she canceled them

because cutting such pretty hair

that took so long to grow

was not a simple decision

Still, Emelia knew she wanted to do it

wanted to make a sick girl smile

with the gift of her golden locks, so

she made another appointment

and this time, she kept it and bravely

allowed the hairdresser to cut

When her younger cousin, Alana, saw her

sporting an adorable blonde bob

and heard the story about why

Emelia cut her hair, Alana decided

she wanted to do the very same thing

Alana’s hair was even longer than Emelia’s

and Alana’s parents really liked

their daughter’s long hair long

and were reluctant

to set up the appointment, but

Alana kept reminding them to call

One day Alana exclaimed:

Mommy, donating hair is much nicer

than having hair like Rapunzel!

Her mom picked up the phone

and called the salon

As Alana sat in the chair

the stylist separated her tresses

into four braids, took the scissors

and cut each braid to the exact

specifications the charity required

Then she packaged the hair carefully

for mailing to “Wigs for Kids”

Alana flipped her new, stylish

shoulder-length hair this way and that

and smiled at her reflection in the mirror

pleased and hopeful that somewhere

some little girl who lost her hair

due to cancer treatments

would receive her donation

and that the little girl would be happy

and the cancer would go away

Maude Carolan Pych

Emelia Thompson