Celebrate freedom from hair

Jay Leno mentioned on a recent program that someone in medical research had come up with a scalp transplant that would grow hair from a deceased donor on the bald head of a recipient.

It probably is just a joke, but I would imagine bald men the world over and thinking, "Dang! Where can I get one?"

My guess would be these are men, who like women, are in their M&M years. For women it's between Menopause and Medicare; for men, make that between Menoxidil and Medicare. Young men seem to embrace baldness.

And well they should. I've always thought bald was sexy. Think Sean Connery. Yul Brynner. Rob Keefe (he's the guy on the Real Simple program on PBS. I think he's hot.)

Young men who notice they're getting a little thin on top just take it to the next step and shave their head. Some of them shave their heads anyway because it's a good look.

Guys in the M&M age bracket have long been in denial about their hair. These are the guys who first gave up flattops and crew cuts in the 1960s in favor of the hippie look. It was a protest back then. Back then the musical "Hair" was making a statement. Barbers were becoming an endangered species. Hair was important.

As men have evolved, so has their outlook about hair and politics. The young men of the 60s who protested the Vietnam war and social inequities by looking anti-establishment have spawned sons and grandsons who embraced the look of firefighters who have always been heroes and who keep their hair short for practical reasons. After 9/11 it became cool to look like a firefighter or a military recruit out to kick al-Qaeda backside, so they shave or buzz cut the hair.

It's a good look.

What's not a good look are some of the traditions M&M men hold on to like a rubber band on Willie Nelson's braids. Also not a good look. Comb-overs are fooling no one. Especially in a high wind.

Toupees are fairly obvious. Some are more obvious than others. I recently saw a man of M&M age who should have known better: his toupee was several shades darker than the fringe that actually grew on his head. The line of demarction that circled his head could not have been more obvious if he had put a piece of red linoleum on his head.

Now Leno comes up with the joke about the scalp transplant.

Here's the deal, gentlemen: Embrace your chrome dome. Younger guys are doing it successfully; you don't have to use the razors and shaving cream they're consuming. Think of the savings. The comfort. The ease. The extra area where your significant other can kiss you.

There's even two days set aside to acknowledge that bald is beautiful: Oct. 7 and 14 are both recognized as "Be Bald and Free Day."

Go for it! Be free! Be bald!