Music and Hot Combs

Even though i was very young (five) when my mother died, thankfully i have a few remaining memories. The most vivid remembrances i have are those of the music, smiles and smoke. Music and people seemed to fill our home all the time. The voices of Barbara Streisand, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye were heard so often, i thought they were members of my family too. My love of music is rooted in those early days.

Forever burned into my memory is the sight and sound of swirling, sizzling smoke, rising from the straightening comb my mother used on the women who sat in our kitchen chairs. I was in awe of both how my mother used that comb and how she made the women laugh and smile while she did their hair. I don't remember the comb being a pleasant time for me though. Unh, unh, not at all. That comb was hot and i dreaded it being so close to my skin. If i had my choice, i would have gladly exchanged my seat in the hot hair chair, for the seat that would have given me a few more memories of watching my mom make people smile.