Dot`sThoughts

Subject: My Dad and Blond Hair


While I never knew my father when he had blond hair, it was dark as far back as I can remember, but he was born with blond hair and I inherited it from him, mine darkened when I was in grade school. My Husband was also a blond which darkened years after we were married. I got my blond from my Dad, while my husband got his blond from his Mom. My Mother and his father both had dark colored hair. Since all my children except for one of the twins are blonds and most of the grandchildren are also blonds as are many of the great grandchildren. So, when they read this, they will understand where their blond hair came from. I am sure they might wonder where their parent got the blond hair since both their grandparents had darker hair when they knew us.

Today I own the very large baby picture of my Dad sitting in the highchair -that my mother used to keep on her bedroom wall after we lost my Dad. She gave it to me before she passed away, but I refused to take it as long as she was here to enjoy it. She said it belonged to me because I was the only one who ever washed the glass or dusted it for her. Funny that I can`r remember where that picture was while I was growing up. I think it was kept upstairs as it took a lot of room hanging on a wall. In this picture, he is wearing those black high top baby shoes of years gone past. He was wearing a beautiful long Confirmation Dress that I think he was Baptized in. Back in those days ( in 1903), babies wore those long dresses. His hair was blond in this picture. I have no idea how old he was when his blond hair started getting darker. I only know his hair was almost black as far back as i can remember. He was only 73 when he died and then his hair was gray. My Mother was born with brown hair which turned a grayish white when she was either in her 70`s or 80`s , I think. I know very little about Walt`s parents. But I was told his mother was born a blond while his Dad had dark hair. Most of their kids were also born with blond hair and most of their grandchildren were also born blonds. So, it was no wonder my children were also blonds. My blond hair turned a light brown when I was still in grade school, while Walt`s blond hair never started to darken till he was in about his 40`s. Funny, I can`t remember exactly when his changed. The only one of my kids that wasn`t born a blond was one of the twins -who has brown hair. He was the image of his grandfather ( my Dad) when he graduated from High school. In that picture my Dad`s hair had already turned dark. In this picture of my Dad, when he graduated from High School, you would think this picture and my son`s graduation picture could be the same person. Things might have been different for that twin without this picture. I once overheard my son telling a friend that his mother had brought home the wrong baby. I guess he got tired of having kids asking him why he didn`t have blond hair like his brothers and sisters. So, he made up an excuse. I remember the day I overheard him saying this to his friend. I went in to the room and told him that if I had brought home the wrong baby, I would have taken him back for the right one as he cried a lot. He was more demanding than his twin brother was. I would give him at least three spoons of food to every one I gave his brother when they were babies in high chairs and still he would be crying while I gave that one spoonful to his brother. His brother is still a very patient man and seldom argues with anyone. When they were about 5 months old and in the playpen he would crawl over and grab whatever toy his brother was playing with. He didn`t want the toy, he just wanted whatever his brother had. As soon as his brother picked up another toy, he would again take it from him. This continued till they were 9 months old and his brother started walking while he was still crawling. Now, whenever he started to grab the toy, his brother would hold the toy outside the playpen and run to the other end of the playpen. I remember a neighbor being with me when this happened and she just laughed and laughed watching the littlest one finally winning against his brother. After about 10 minutes of not being able to take the toy the bigger one just sat down and started crying. All through school he was demanding over his brother till one day his brother came to me asking that I tell his brother to hurry up. They both had jobs while still in High School, but only one owned a car and he provided transportation also for his brother. This one day. the one was playing cards with his girlfriend when his brother was ready to leave for work and the one owning the car asked me to make his brother hurry up. I told him it was time he learned to stand up to his brother like he did when they were small. So he told his brother he was leaving and if he wanted a ride he better come now. Brother kept playing cards and soon we heard the car backing out of the driveway. The girfriend told his brother he better get going as his brother was leaving. he replied to his girlfriend with this remark " Don`t worry, he will only go as far as the corner and he will drive back". Was he ever surprised when his brother never came back for him and he then asked me for a ride to work. I felt it was time he learned he didn`t rule the house, so I told him that he had a ride if he had wanted one. The next day a neighbor told me she saw my son thumbing a ride on the Northway ramp. You can bet after that he was ready to leave when his brother was. They not only have different colored hair, but the blond has blue eyes while his brother has brown eyes. They are still as different as day and night-- one is book smart and talks like he was an executive working in a high position, while the other one is head smart in different ways, like he knows electrician , pluming, repairing cars , etc, but talks more like a regular everyday worker. The blond is three minutes older and only weighed 5 pounds 1 1/2 ounces and was shorter than his brother. The younger brown haired one weighed 6 pounds 11 3/4 ounces and was a bit taller. Two beautiful babies with completely different temperaments- one was very outgoing and the other one grew up thinking he wasn`t as smart as his brother. I never caught on to this till they were in their teens.

While one twin had brown hair, his brother`s hair was almost white when he was born. So far all the other kids still have their blond hair- even the ones in their 50`s. I figured it is staying longer due to having both parents born blonds.

Wish I had gotten to know both of Walt`s parents, but they died when he was just 13 and almost 15 yrs old. Much of what I learned about them was from Walt`s older brothers and sister. Walt was the baby of his family.

And to think all this started with my Dad and Walt`s Mom being born with blond hair. Or i could say it started with my Mom and Wal`t Dad having dark har.

One more thing I wish to add is that when I was small I always said I was going to marry a man with black hair and Walt`s hair turned black- just as my Dad`s did before turning gray. So, for a few years my childish dream came true.
Another thing I said ,when in High School, was that I would never marry a Morehouse. I dated one- no relation to Walt`s family- back then and a friend asked if I thought we would ever marry. He was a polite man, often giving me boxes of Chocolates, etc., treated me well, but he just wasn`t the type I wanted to live a whole life with. He did once ask me to marry him, but I was honest with him and told him I liked him as a great friend, but I just wasn`t in love with him. I told him he deserved real love and one day he would meet the right person. A few years after Walt and I married we were at the Bowling Ally with my family and just as Walt was ready to throw his ball down the ally, there came the one I had dated years before. He came over to where I was sitting and said he wanted me to meet his wife and that I was right- the right woman had come along. Walt got so jealous that he tossed his ball and it went right down the gutter. He had four stikes in a row and now a gutter ball. I am glad he eventually outgrew his jealousy before it destroyed our marriage. When we first married he once told me that all women were alike and his first wife was a runner. They broke up after he came home on furlough from the Army and found her in their bed with another man they both knew. I asked him what he did. He said all he did was tell the man- you want her, you got her. Then he walked out and flattened all 4 tires on the man`s car. I met him a few years after that. It didn`t take me long to convince him that all women are not alike.