Hi all,
I only found this redhead website today and I am just trying out some of its features. It's got a unique approach to social netoworking, it is like a less formal myspace.
Anyway, I thought I'd share a little story. A key stepping stone in the realisation of my (our) uniqueness (gingerness). It occured way back in my primary school years, I couldn't have been older than seven or eight. I had been selected for a role in a play, I didn't want to take part but still to this day I struggle to say no to people if my feelings are simply that I don't want to. I can't remember the play's name, all I can remember is I played the role of some fancy palace man extra, who filled the stage with classy dancing like that in Pride and Prejudice with a partner (a smelly girl). There was three other pairs to be on stage all doing the same dance. So before the true grit of this story is revealed it can be seen that it was a highly embarassing time for me. I don't like dancing, I was scared of girls (not so much now 
). I was a child expected to dance with a girl in front of my Mum and the other parents.
The teachers were keen to make sure all parts of the play were visually compelling. It was a very grand and aristocratic aesthetic they had to achieve so from the stage to the costumes all details were chased. Backstage (the classroom behind the dinner hall) on opening night I found myself anticipating my part which was fast approaching. My fellow ballroom dancers and I were being dressed up by this nice looking young lady. I remember being in awe of her and looking at her and thinking she is sooooo much older, wow what a woman. The reality, more than likely was she was just a seventeen year old girl, one of the teacher's daughters. She was probably doing a college course in child care and was keen to gain volunteer activities on her CV. Little did she know that night she would trigger an intense state of self conciousness in a young ginger child that would burn on for the rest of his days.
A quick side note, by nature I struggle to be selfish, I always find myself at the back of queues and happily letting people go before me. So when I easily found myself at the back of the queue for being checked over by the young nice lady and having one key final touch placed upon our costumes I couldn't have known what was going to happen.
You see, the young lady was asked to place little curly moustaches on the little boys faces. In her rush she did not look over the queue and anticipate what moment was approaching her. The three boys in front of me, all with their common brown hair had their faces dressed with a black moustache. With each stroke and an encouraging pat on the back to send each boy off I took one step forward to my destiny. And then it arrived, face to face with the nice looking young lady. If only she didn't greet me with such a beautiful smile as the dip in her expression wouldn't have been so obvious. The realisation of the black colour crayon she held between her fingers.
There it was, she had to make a call now, give the ginger child a ginger moustache and make him realise he is different from the others, or give him a black moustache and hope he doesn't notice. But unknown to her this control of feelings was out of her hands because I was very aware at what she was deliberating. I clocked when I watched her take a moment to see what other crayons were available,
"why would she need to change the crayon?" I asked myself
And with my time on stage looming, her obvious deliberating on show, and my mind mutating into a self concious mess. She made her decision....
Before I reveal, what do you think she done?
Tags: The Day I Knew I Was Different Ginger Funny Story
