I passed this brother on MacArthur the other day. I’d just come out of World Ground Cafe, and I’d only made it a couple doors down. He was dressed in the uniform of a house painter (white shirt and white painters’ pants), and he was talking on his cellphone. I’m not sure how or why I remember those details, since I was completely distracted by his hair.

His head was shaved clean except for a little line of short braids (or locks) located just above the nape. His mustache and sideburns were trimmed to perfection, and someone had put tiny white beads on each of the braids/locks on the back of his head.

The line of hair at the back of the head is not my particular taste, but I have to give this brother his props. I might not like the style, but for what he was doing, the upkeep was flawless.

Ajuan Mance