Curls and The Origin of the Universe

Curls and The Origin of the Universe

It was the age of Travolta, disco music, leisure suits, gold chain necklaces (for men and women) and cars with motors so large that they were half the size of the vehicle. And it was a carefree time for the Gang from Guthrie.
Hairdos are one of the many defining images of a time period. Think of the DA and the spit curl for men and the 50's pop into mind. The Bob cut for ladies signifies the time of the 1920's. The 1970's were no different and girls were found trying to match Farrah Fawcett's hairdo. For the guys, mullets were popular and some even ventured to wearing curls. Men began to enter beauty salons for one of the first times in history and ask for full perms to gain the coveted curls. If they were unable to get the full head of curls they opted for having the back of their heads permed.
My good friend, Hugh Reid Kimbrough, was blessed with naturally curly hair. Up to this time he had done everything imaginable to "tame his mane." During this Disco Age, Reid began the process of releasing the curls from their bondage and rather than comb them out or pasting the curls down Reid freed them to their basic bouncing nature.
As the curls on Reid's head began to grow in number and increased in
curliness, so did his confidence and his interest in the fairer sex. For those who had known Reid the longest, we all knew him to be quite chatty and albeit a bit quirky but he was loved and admired all the same. But when the opportunity came to converse with the opposite sex, Reid would develop a severe case of lock jaw.
Chuck Sugg called one Saturday and requested the presence of "The Fun Bunch" to Shakey's Pizza for a night of food, fun and laughter. Reid jumped at the chance to feed Mr. Tum-Tum, the nickname he gave to his stomach. At the agreed upon hour I parked my Camaro in the front of the Kimbrough's house, honk my horn and patiently waited for Reid as I listened to the BeeGees on my 8 track. As Barry Gibbs crooned the line to "Staying Alive",
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man: no time to talk.
What to my wandering eye should appear existing the humble Kimbrough abode but Hugh Reid Kimbrough in a leisure suit, shirt unbuttoned to the middle of his chest, golden chain around his neck,stack shoes on his feet and an absolute avalanche of curls atop his head. I felt my mouth slowly open as I witnessed this metamorphosis of a backward youth into a Travolta wannabe. I looked at my own outfit of Polo, Chuck Taylor's, and Levis held up by my "Jesus Saves" belt buckle and I knew I paled in comparison to this latest Guthrie version of Tony Manero.
As I slowly pulled into traffic, between a tractor and a horse and buggy, I could only look at Reid and say, "What in the world happened to you, Reid?" Reid just looked at me snickered and every few seconds he would quickly shake his head. I had to know what was going on. Curls, Haley Bo, curls, girls love curls and I shake my 'do so they will see my curls. I knew then we were headed for an interesting evening.
We arrived at Shakey's and located the other two members of team "Fun Bunch," Charles Jacob Sugg II and Cyrus Coleman Chapman III. Reid's new found bravado had us all stunned momentarily, that is until the pizza arrived. Reid quickly returned to his former self as his attention returned to meeting the immediate needs of the hunger pangs felt by Mr. Tum-Tum. In earnest, Reid counted the pizza slices and assigned them to each of us. If the number of slices couldn't be divided evenly the odd slice obviously went to Mr. Tum-Tum.
Reid grabbed a slice of the HOT pizza and the uttered the fateful words, "what are you waiting for?" What we were waiting for is what ALWAYS happened next. In his desires to meet the needs of Mr. Tum-Tum, Reid would take a bite of pizza before it was sufficiently cool, hence burning his tongue, lips, teeth, hands and usually lap when he would drop the slice. It happened like clock work this time too. Thankfully, his polyester pants didn't show tomato sauce on this night.
As the pizza was finished off and the table cleared, we leaned back in our chairs to sip our sweet tea and people watch as was our custom. As Reid surveyed the room, he told us this would be his Seder Meal of sorts because, "tonight would be unlike any other night." As Reid waited impatiently for his hair growth, he had also been painstakingly working on his opening line to spring on some unsuspecting young lady. AND then it happened, Reid spotted a lone female that had separate herself from the pack and was dining alone. Reid took a long drink of his Tea for courage and utter these fateful words, "watch this fellows." What I saw next will be forever burned into my memory. As the Carole King classic blared on the jukebox
"I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around"
With the scent of Jovan Musk on his collar and the smell of coca-cola on his breath, we witnessed Reid rise from his chair to his full 6'4" frame, throw his shoulders back, puff his chest out, twist the ends of his Magnum PI mustache and begin a strut that George Jefferson on "All in the Family" would envy all the while shaking his head VIOLENTLY as he made his way toward the young co-ed. Reid pulled a chair up and began conversing with the young lady in a very animated way. He was making hand gestures like something might have exploded. Chappy, Chuck and I took the whole scene in unsure of what exactly we were witnessing.
Eventually, the tea worked its way through Mr. Tum-Tum and Reid excused himself to the rest room. The co-ed looked around the room and then slowly rose from her chair. Chuck giggled and said, "she's gone." Chappy laughed and said, "I can't wait to hear from him what he said to her." But instead of heading for the door, the young lady headed for our table. She then sat next to me in the chair Reid had vacated. I immediately stopped polishing my "Jesus Saves" belt buckle. I had made my way to the space between the second "S" in Jesus and the first "S" in Saves. The young lady crossed her willowy legs, leaned slightly forwarded, placed her elbow on the table and rested her face on her slender fist. She tossed back her Farrah Fawett-esque curls and with a smile that stretched from ear-to-ear she said,"is that guy who has been talking to me a friend of yours?" In my best Sean Connery 007 voice I replied," Reid, Hugh Reid?" "Yes, him" was her reply. I begin to become nervous since this was now the longest sustained conversation I had had with a member of the opposite sex. I felt my throat start to dry and I reached for my drink, (sweet tea, crushed ice not cubes, two lemons, please.)
As I was experiencing the soothing affects of the brown liquid on my larynx, what she said next nearly made me spit out my drink.
"He just asked me what my theory on the Origins of the Universe were. Was I a proponent of the Big Bang theory, or Intelligent Design? I am pretty sure no one has ever asked me something like that before." Her next question almost took me to my knees as she said,"And what do you know about about his medical condition?" Through laughing teeth I responded, "which condition?" "His severe head tic. Has he been afflicted with it since birth? " was her reply. "No ma'am," I answered "that is just Reid being Reid and showing off his curly coifed hair. He meant to impress you not startle you. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh" she replied.
As Reid returned from the facilities, the night progressed as any other Saturday night. He and I eventually made our way back to Metro Guthrie. I soon realized that the person I was riding with would evolve into a Metro man.
There may be 2 Charles Jacob Sugg and 3 Cyrus Coleman Chapman but there is only one Hugh Reid Kimbrough. The mold was broken when Reid was born. I knew Reid his whole short life and I think of him often. It NEVER fails that when I ponder our time together that a smile, giggle, snicker, chuckle or deep belly laugh doesn't follow. Reid, the Eagles of '73 and the Rebels of '77 miss you now and for ever will.