WHILE I HAVE been enjoying the Rio Olympics (especially track and field) every chance I get, the hairstyles got me. I cahn begin tuh understand who in duh right mind would tell some o’ the athletes dat dem weaves and hair pieces look like anything you would want tuh face the international public in. Talking ’bout having a bad hair day. Wha’ loss!
Every woman does experience having a bad hair day at some time or the other in duh life but when something like dat happens, you would see the body wearing a hat, a cap, even tie-ing down duh head wid some kinda scarf or trying tuh get it brush back up in a scrunchy, if it long enough tuh go in one, ‘cause duh doan want nuhbody tuh see dem wid duh hair looking a certain way. But looking at some o’ dem athletes it like it is normal fuh some people tuh sport bad looking hair.
The thing is, it ain’t like it is real hair dat want doing like plaiting, straightening, combing, relaxing or even styling ya know; it is the bad looking weaves and wigs some o’ dem wearing. The other thing is this, the hair long, long, long and dem running, bolting going down the track and like duh ain’t the least concerned dat dah piece o’ hair could fly off. The thing is, when ya look at dem, all o’ the side hair gone and the weave start from close by duh ears. Dem is something else hear?
Talking bout hair flying off; the other night I was watching the women’s semis and was checking out the hair of the young woman who was running, I think fuh the USA. She is the one who won but still didn’t qualify tuh go through tuh the finals. Anyway, she had on a long straight weave and it had two hair clips holding it down at the two sides.
Now she aint had much side hair and all I was sitting down there saying is, wid the speed dem gine guh down there wid, I hope the two hair clips doan leggo and the hair piece fly off.
Well thank God ’cause it was bare speed and before ya could say Jack Robinson, the race was done. When I look at the young lady hair, one o’ the hair clips was almost out and dah side o’ the hair was kick up off she head. I had tuh say, girl, a few more metres and dat piece o’ hair would be left pon the track somewhere and the photographers and media people would have had a field day.
As if dat ain’t bad enough though, the tattoos ain’t tuh be out-done. Some o’ the athletes got different types o’ tattoos all ovah duh arms, duh neck, duh back, all ovah duh bodies; I ain’t like it at all. Ya could call me old-fashion but I like tuh see athletes looking clean and healthy. I cahn stan’ looking at the scrawl up bodies wid the lot o’ different colour dyes and inks or wha’evah ya does call it.
Some o’ them look like just a mass of ink pon some o’ duh skin, ya could hardly make out anything other than ink. Like the girl, the sprinter who was running fuh Trinidad and Tobago. My Lord, the girl had tattoos all bout the place; my sister say dat she more scrawl up than a two-year-old child’s drawing book and I had tuh agree. I was not impressed at all and she wasn’t only scrawl up ya know, she had on a weave too.
Ya could talk wha ya like bout the Chinese, Japanese and dem kinda people so from dat part o’ the world, dem people got discipline. I ain’t see not one o’ dem wid duh beautiful skin scrawl up and ink up. All ya does evah see pon dem bodies, is sheer muscle and a perfectly toned body
Tuh be honest wid ya, I ain’t mind the extensions, the hair pieces or even the lil wigs at times but there is a time and place fuh evathing and some o’ dem athletes really ovah doing it.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
