Grey is Gone: Thank you Julie and Julia

Our Busy Woman’s Book Club had its annual dinner and movie night. We diligently prepared our gluten free, kosher, vegetarian meal to accommodate our diverse group of eaters. Apropos of the menu challenges, we chose to view the movie Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (who have paired up again after their wonderful performances in Doubt).

But it was over hors d’oeuvres (homemade hummus, fresh veggies, and an artichoke dish that even I liked eating), when I brought up a topic unrelated to our books or the movie. After all, this was the fourth year of our reading together, and the third anniversary of our February dinner and movie night. Why not depart from the usual intellectually driven discussions into the more personal? I decided to go for it.

“So, I am thinking about what to do with my hair when I have it cut and colored this week. I am considering having the grey be subtly incorporated into whatever my hair dresser recommends to take out the dullness. You know, sort of transitioning….”

My voice trailed off as I saw the looks I was getting. And then the comments clinched it.

“No, no grey. You are too young,” warned one friend who is only a few years older than I.

“Grey is dull,” firmly stated our artist, who always wears great colors.

“I will never let my hair get grey,” proclaimed Judge Lisa. But then she told us that she hasn’t yet had to color her hair for the grey.

“I have been grey since I was in my twenties, but no one is going to know about that,” piped in the only blond in our group (hmmmm, I thought she was natural, but I guess I was fooled).

“Yeah, but S. is grey.” (S. was not there that night)

“Oh, her grey is beautiful and is perfect for her. She is a stunning woman who pulls it off. It’s not the same.” (Was I being dissed? Probably not.)

Okay, so I took a vote. Each person gave her opinion. It was unanimous. Grey will not be on my head come Friday.

So we went on to watch the movie. I had seen it before, but with my husband at home. With the “girls” it was more fun. I laughed at different parts; I cried at different parts. It was a great night.

And when it ended and we talked a bit, I decided to let my hair down once again. (Big hair night for me).

“I am jealous. I blog. I have a story. I want a movie. Why don’t I have a book, an agent, a movie? I want Meryl Streep to play me in my movie.

I am not sure if my friends thought I was serious or not. But I am and I was. Is there anybody out there? If you are an agent, let me know. I know Meryl Streep would do a fabulous job!