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PAGE 8B
Wacky Facts
V Locks of Love has provided more than
2,000 hairpieces to children suffering from
long-term medical hair loss.
V Each hairpiece is made from real human hair,
and arrives long, so the recipient may style it
to fit his or her face. — locksoflove.org
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MONA REEDER/MCT
By Leslie Garcia
The Dallas Morning News
L ouise Owens used to have hair.
Blond and thick, it hung down
her back.
Augustus Papaceno, her 11
■ year-old son, used to have hair,
too. His also was blond (though, ad¬
mittedly a bit more natural than hers).
It hung down his back, too. People
would tell Louise, “I saw Augustus
flying by on his bike today. All that
hair! 99
He hadn’t had it cut since June 2005,
when he and several members of their
tion decided to
grow their hair for
Locks of Love. The
nonprofit organiza¬
tion provides wigs
for children suffer¬
ing from long-term
medical hair loss
from any diagnosis.
Augustus’ hair
was
He plays cello and guitar, and, Louise
says, “He had the perfect hair for a
rock star. *>
And for a wig.
Not for a child, as it turned out, but
for his mother.
In January, during her annual
checkup, Louise’s doctor found a lump
in her breast. On Valentine’s Day, she
underwent a lumpectomy. Two weeks
later, she had a hysterectomy. Six weeks
after that, she started chemotherapy.
THE PRICE YOU PAY
Louise knew she’d lose her hair. Ah,
yes, her hair. The hair she’d always
“had a lot of fun with.”
“I used to be in the club scene in
Help!
Work hard to make choices
DEAR AMERICAN GIRL: Lately, I am
sleepy all the time. I’m tired all day, and I
fall asleep as soon as my head touches the
—
.
BlYour body is growing and chang¬ heavy. — Cola Fanatic
ing, so you may simply need more • You’re right too much soda can
sleep. In fact, it’s recommended that J J make you gain weight. It can also hurt your
you get nine to 10 hours of sleep a Y w J teeth and keep you from getting enough cal
night. Keep a “sleep journal” for a cium for strong, healthy bones. To cut down,
week or two and write down -it American Girl IM drink water when you’re
the hours you are sleeping thirsty before you have
r © 2008 American Girl, LLC. All rights reserved. soda. Order cola at
a
It’s also important to avoid caffeine, which can
keep you awake. If you are getting enough
hours of sleep, but still feeling tired all the time,
it might be time to check with your doctor.
'yt&d* mfy 7 Poultry Serving Industry the North and Georgia helping the jdfc
environment by recycling poultry
mM feed ingredients*
i..........—.......... _
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Thursday, August 21,2008
1
New York,” the 49-year-old says. “I had
hair that was purple, pink, platinum
blond. I’ve had it short; I’ve had it long.
a I cut hair in New York. All the hair¬
dressers liked to work on mine because
I’d do color; I’d do anything!” says
Louise, a freelance writer who has
written about wine for The Dallas
Morning News.
But she also knew that, despite all
the ways she had worn it and the rea¬
sons she had enjoyed it, in the end it
was hair. Just hair.
And if getting treatment that could
cure her cancer meant she’d lose her
hair in the process, that was a small
Boy shaves
his head for
mom's wig
everybody out.
Instead of losing it in clumps from
chemotherapy, she decided to shave
her head. And though that is a choice
many patients make, she took hers a
step further: She asked her son to go
bald with her.
2 HEADS BETTER THAN 1
She may have been joking initially.
But the two are very close, and he did¬
n’t have to think about it much before
saying yes. They decided to combine
his hair and hers into a hairpiece. When
Louise’s brother heard the plan, he said
he’d grow his hair, too, to be part of it.
So, one morning this spring, mother
and son went to a hairdresser. Within
minutes, their hair was in ponytails but
DEAR AMERICAN GIRL : I drink way too
many sodas! I’m alyvays drinking them at
parties, restaurants and with my meals at
a restaurant instead of a large. Drink milk or
water with meals at home. See if your parents
can help you drink less soda, too.
Visit americangirl.com to get or give advice.
She remembered
when her late
brother-in-law was
undergoing chemo,
a he’d wake up with a
halo of hair on his
pillow,” Louise says.
it I didn’t want to be
at Target when my
hair fell out and freak
no longer attached to their heads. They
looked at each other in the mirror and
rubbed each other’s scalps.
a Your head feels just like mine! 99
Augustus told her. Then he asked if
they could go for pizza.
Louise dropped off Augustus, now
bald, at school.
it When I picked him up, it was a gor¬
geous day,” Louise says. “Everybody
was sitting outside their cars, waiting
for their kids. I saw him come out of the
building and thought, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ ■
His hair has started growing back
while hers is at a standstill, which frus¬
trates him a little.
“He wants to do something,” Louise
says. “He’s always trying to lift my
spirits. -
Although they have always been
close, the relationship has changed.
“About the time we shaved our
heads, he became a different kid,” she
says. “He’s very solicitous. He rides his
bike to church if I don’t go. His level of
independence has really been helpful.
Says Augustus: “Now, we can say
we have matching hairdos, and it puts
me in her shoes. "
Their ponytails are still in a plastic
bag, waiting to be made into a wig.
Louise pulls them out, fluffs them a lit¬
tle. She’s an optimist.
She views losing her hair as liberat¬
ing; she can roll down the car windows
and there’s no hair in her face.
Says Augustus: “I don’t get as hot,
and people say I look better.”
But when she stops talking for a
moment to think about what Augustus
did — an 11-year-old boy, shaving the
beautiful hair he’d been growing for
almost three years because she needed
him — she gets a little emotional.
Him doing this makes me cry,” she
says, a bit in awe. “I’m like, ‘Wow! 9 99
Rips & Raves
Crafty kits for creative kids
III stop on your math
homework, you need
* * the tools to help
■ you
>V -* develop your craft.
Are you •V > - Check out two
one of those ■ m . I new boxed sets that
* * help
kids who can you tune
can’t wait your writing, skills, or
for your next writing as¬
signment in school? Is art
class your favorite time of the
day? If so, you might have
discovered one of your fa¬
vorite hobbies. Whether you
enjoy coming up with great
story ideas, or doodling non-
Jennifer Hiewood
!• ’
y
■
—
Chatter Box
“If children have the ability to ignore
all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all
learn from them.
— Seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor,
Lance Armstrong, on thinkexist.com.
m
Going Place
i \
Don’t let your mode
of transportation
spoil your style
Gas prices are up and Mom and Dad refuse to drive
you to school. Without a ride, you could take the
school bus. Except that it’s gross, slow and totally
babyish. That leaves your bike as your only set of
wheels. So what can you wear to bike to school?
. You can bike in just about anything,” said Charlie
Short, the junior bicycling ambassador coordinator for
the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Short works with dozens of teens who bike to
school and said there are clothes that are more com¬
fortable for riding. Denim, for example, can be worn
on the bike but you have to pick the right pair.
it. Many variety of jeans are either too tight not
or
flexible enough to sit down on a bike,” Short said.
When riding in jeans, pick a pair that is flexible in
fit but also style. Short said jeans will get scuffed so
you want a rinse that can wear the distressed look
well.
On rainy days, Short recommends wearing uniform
style pants instead of jeans. “If you run through rain,
jeans get heavy,” Short said.
Work pants, like the Dickey’s brands, will dry
faster and be a bit more durable on the bike, Short
said.
Corduroys can be worn on the bike but be wary
that cords wear out quickly and are most likely to
fade in the seat of the pants.
For girls, riding in skirts is an option. The main
concern is making sure the skirt isn’t too close to the
chain.
. It’s just like having long pants, you want to be
concerned of getting caught on the chain,” Short said.
It’s also best to pick a skirt that is long enough so
you can ride without being revealing. Leggings are in
style right now and can be worn under short skirts.
And if you wear a long skirt, Short said a hair tie
can be used to tie the skirt up and
away from the chain. ^
On top, Short recommends not ff
riding in the shirt you plan to
wear to class to avoid
smelling or wearing dirty -
clothes. Kids who wear *
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uniforms can leave a top iiiiiiiiSi
in the locker and only wear it fm i«n _
during school hours. iiftiitiiSiSiwtsi
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Students who don’t have to
wear uniforms should
also avoid wearing the PTl"
same shirt for biking and pr
school. Short recom¬
mends biking in a spare top and
throwing your shirt over your shoulder
while riding.
— Emilie Le Beau
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL TRAP/MCT
expand your talents
as an artist. “LittleMiss
Matched’s The Writer in
Me!: How to Write Like
Nobody Else!” (Workman,
$16.95) includes a book with
information on writing short
stories, plays, poems, news
stories and more: The set
also comes with a diary, re¬
porter’s notebook, dream
journal and travel journal, as
well as other items to moti¬
vate you.
it LittleMIssMatched’s
The Artist in Me!: How to
Draw Like Nobody Else »»
(Workman, $16.95) helps
teach kids how to draw, be a
cartoonist or create collages.
You’ll love the sketchbook,
charcoal and oil pastels in¬
cluded in the kit.
Lauren Cohen