Foiled Plans and a Sense of Community


Okay, so yesterday I posted about the history of dreadlocks. I posted it to the Facebook wall of the DreadHeadHQ Facebook Page and got a decent number of people who read it and commented on the wall post or sent me messages, but no one started following me on Blogger!!! PLEASE follow my blog! It lets me know that there are actually people out there reading who give a rat's patookis what I'm writing! All you gotta do is click on the 'Follow' button in the column to the right of this entry!

In other news, yesterday my friend Nicole convinced me to go out for a girls' night. I know this sound like a non-issue and not worth bringing up here, but I promise it relates! It was the FIRST night I've EVER been away from my daughter at bedtime since she was born. Usually she passes out between 9:30 and 10:30. We had plans to go to Diva's, a gay bar in Northampton, MA, in part because the cover was free before 10 p.m. So, we got there shortly before 10 and let me tell you it was DEAD in there. It was basically us and the staff, which was pretty lame. We didn't have plans to stay out super late, so we figured by the time it really started to pick up there we would have to leave, so one of the other girls with us suggested going to Maximum Capacity in Chicopee, MA. So, we did.

We got to Maximum Capacity at 10:30ish. It wasn't super packed, but certainly much busier than it had been at Diva's. (Which, by the way, was quite a disappointment since I've been wanting to go there for years now and hadn't...So first trip was a flop.) And maybe this makes me old, but I think its just plain GROSS to see people basically dry humping on the dance floor. It was so... obscene! I'm definitely not prudish, but that was just nasty. I definitely could have done without those images permanently burned into my brain that's for sure.

The high point of the night was, however, that when we FIRST walked into Maximum Capacity there was a WHITE guy with dreadlocks!!! Ohmigod... it's the only other WHITE person I've seen with dreads in this area! It was such an exciting moment. I think the best part, though, other than just seeing him is that there was a split second where we made eye contact, smiled, and nodded. We were just acknowledging each other, but I had this distinct feeling of community in that moment. It's like just by knowing that we have dreads we automatically belong to that community, we have something in common, and more than likely share a lot of the same ideals. It was so... refreshing! I wish we had gotten to actually talk. I would have asked how old his dreads were, how he maintained them, what products he used, etc etc etc. That didn't happen, though. However, it didn't detract from the excitement of it!

Only a half an hour into our stay at Maximum Capacity my hubbins called with my LO screaming in the background inconsolably. He was clearly NOT in a good mood and she was clearly NOT going to sleep with me there to nurse her to sleep for the night. I felt bad to be cutting everyone else's night short. Fortunately, all the other girls (minus 1) have little one's themselves so they understood that baby comes first. Stupid me, however, didn't drive my own car so it was midnight before I finally got back home again. By which point, naturally, my daughter had indeed fallen asleep while watching Finding Nemo in my hubby's lap. It was adorable. I knew that would happen, though, but it I hadn't left for home I would have felt absolutely awful.

Anyway, so yesterday, too, I posted on the DreadHeadHQ Facebook Page a question that has been haunting me for a while in light of some things I've read online. I've read that mineral oil is not good for use on dreadlocks. This makes sense in the fact alone that anything oil-like will make the hair slippery and prevent it from locking. However, DHHQ uses it in a few of their products. The one I'm most concerned with, though, is their Dread Butta. I posted on the Wall a question about if they have any official recommendations for the use of Dread Butta as far as how frequently it should be used and at what point in the maturity of dreads is safest, but no replies from them yet. I'll keep everyone here updated on the response(s) I get!

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