FROM HAIR TO THE HAIRY -- A CULTURAL TRIP ACROSS THE YEARS...SAVE 'EM ALL

EDITION OF THURSDAY/FRIDAY MAY 4-5, 2023. [PetPowellPress] There’s a big flap over the U.S. Navy using a drag performer as a recruiting element. Then, there’s the big flap over Bud Light’s promotion involving a trans performer.
As a teen in the mid-60s the big flap of a “pop culture” crisis in my generation was “Git uh haircut, boy!”
The HAIRY CULTURAL CRISIS was launched on a Sunday night — we can pinpoint Feb. 9, 1964. That’s when the barbering and hairstyle industries in America got a hairy wake-up call. All over America, living room TVs were tuned to The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles brought their rebellious hair style to the rebellious youth of America. (More in Contemplations.)
FROM A PUBLIC GROUP
FOCUSING ON DAS DOGS
There’s a Facebook page called “Dallas Urgent Shelter Dogs” that posts photos and info regarding dogs in the big city’s big shelter where the big needle stays busy. 
Here is the FACEBOOK LINK.
Sometimes the animals have some time left; sometimes their time is measured in hours and minutes.
I have no idea how much time this quartet of dogs has. We’re relying on information posted at 9:21 a.m. Wednesday. It reads this way:
“Four 5 m/o pups found together
Dallas Animal Services
Look like GSD/Husky mixes
A1178078 - MOCHA female, 27 lbs
A1178077 - FRAPPE female, 26 lbs
A1178059 - KINGSTON male, 21 lbs
A1178058 - ASHTON male, 21 lbs
*I am a volunteer. Contact the shelter with adoption/transport questions.”
Here is the DAS Facebook link  — the site mentions dogs and cats and the recent ransomeware attack
At bedallas90.org -- the shelter's webite -- you can link up to the how-to info about adopting and you can see the dogs available in the shelter. Neither the Facebook link nor the bedallas90.org link has the quartet of dogs (as of this writing)...
[LARRY ASIDE: Most shelter’s have online sites that show their adoptables and also tell you how to get in touch to ask about a specific animal. Some shelters discourage phone calls and ask for emails. Organizations such as 4-Legged Helpers, deal with smaller understaffed and under-financed suburban and semi-rural shelters and try to help those animals get out before Small Town Time Expires. You can find 4-Legged Helpers on FACEBOOK HERE.
this guy Flynn is one of those dogs the Helpers have been trying to save from losing his life in a small, rarely-visited city shelter. Click on the artwork to make Flynn's photos and lines of type grow]
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE,
THE DOG-WRITERS’
HOPEFUL BIOGRAPHIES
We begin with volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown's take on Drako. He’s a 3-year-old, 67-pound Plott Hound mix with a “glossy brindle coat.” Judi introduced him with this sentence: “If Drako could speak and if he was humble, he’d have bragging rights. He’s got so much going for him!
”
He must have had someone who loved him at some point — but he came in on April 27 as a stray. Judi writes, “He was microchipped, and his owners were called but they chose not to come get him. I just can’t figure that one out. I seldom fall for a dog as quickly as I did for Drako but he captured my heart with his loving, friendly, easy-going, playful, happy personality! He no sooner got out into the yard when he found a squeaky toy and ran around joyfully squeaking it! He chases balls and retrieves them …. all the time wagging his tail! He sits for treats and gives his paw. He takes treats gently. He’s very well behaved and wants to please. As big as he is, he’s extremely gentle! He’s curious and alert and explored the yard but kept coming back to me. … I just can’t say enough about Drako. He’s an amazing guy and would make an amazing pet for an active family. He would most likely do well with children. He would need a large yard to play in and a loving family to love on!”

Drako is #5253436 at the shelter. Use that ID when you call the Mesquite Shelter at 972-216=6283 or email [email protected].

Same system for this girl Precious, #52531238. Her biographer is Debra Chisholm who says Precious also came in as a stray on April 27. And, she says, “My Dog Scanner app suggests the following mix in her breed: American Staffordshire Terrier, Austrian Pinscher and American Pit Bull Terrier.  Precious weighs 52 pounds, is approx 2 years old and is not spayed.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Pause here to take a look at the demeanor of this dog Precious. That’s not exactly a dog that ISN’T precious, is it! Read on and try not to cringe.]
Debra writes, “This sweet girl was nearly paralyzed with fear upon arrival.  One of our volunteers has been working with her daily to help her feel more comfortable and less fearful and nervous.  One of the goals is to establish trust and confidence in the shelter staff and volunteers.  She is coming along and our volunteer was able to coax her out of the kennel and out into the hallway.  Precious is especially afraid of the leash. 

“This calm and gentle girl is willing to cuddle, be affectionate and give kisses.  She likes treats and takes them gently.  She will continue to receive the TLC and patience needed for her to be ready to leave the shelter and acclimate to a foster home or adopter.  Precious has the potential to be a loving and loyal companion and she will continue to be worked with in order for that to be in her future.  She has quickly become a volunteer favorite!  An updated eval will be sent in a week or two as we are confident she will continue to make good progress.”

[LARRY ASIDE: If anyone knows the lout who didn’t properly care for this very wonderful dog, let us know. I’m in the mood to deliver a stern lecture about the value of dogs and the emptiness of human hearts and heads.]
Debra also tipped us to this girl Amelia, a 2-year-old, spayed, 30-pound Terrier mix who came in as a stray on Feb. 11. That’s 3 months of survival in a city shelter. Debra writes, “This is a fave of mine and I'd like to fill you in on her wonderful attributes.  She knows the sit and shake commands.  She will sit for treats and takes them gently.  She is frisky and enthusiastic.  Amelia treasures the times she is taken from her kennel and allowed to romp about in the shelter yard.  She has a moderate activity level.

 “Amelia is a compact size and would be a good fit for someone needing a smaller-medium size dog.  She has a friendly and trusting personality.  Amelia is affectionate, will jump on the bench beside me in the yard and wants to sit on my lap.  She is happy to receive loving touches.  Amelia walks quite nicely on a leash.  She's a real charmer and is more than ready to change her place of residence from a city shelter to her perfect forever home in which she will receive the TLC she deserves.”

Amelia is #52047839 when you call the shelter at 972-216-5283 or email [email protected].
 Once again, same system for this pup — #52536086.
Debra writes, “I have named this darling girl Maggie.  She was picked up by one of our officers as a stray and brought to the Mesquite Animal Shelter on 4/28.  Maggie is a mixed breed, weighing in at 60 pounds, not currently spayed and approx 5 years of age.  She is the most gentle, calm, well-behaved girl. … She is a bit timid but understandably so due to having arrived only a few days ago. She is doubtless baffled as to where she is and why she has landed in this strange place.  She walks beautifully on a leash and did not seem reactive to other dogs she passed. … She has a low-key personality and yet is lively and active.  She is alert and seemed quite interested in standing at the gate and watching the activity in the field and the parking lot.  She likes treats and takes them gently.”
Debra say Maggie “would doubtless be a good fit for an older couple or person in a quiet environment.  She tugged at my heartstrings and I hope will do the same for just the right person.”
When we clicked on the “Animals-in-the-Shelter” link for Mesquite, we found a newcomer, a kitten who came in on May 3. He’s #52573353. His bio says he’s about a week over a month old. He’s small and “available.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Yep, a black and white Domestic Shorthair Mix just like our beloved Apprentice Office Cat Stevie Ray who, to my knowledge has never been to Mesquite and, also, was “fixed” long before #52573353 became a twinkle in a cat’s eye. That’s Stevie Ray’s face on the right and, yes, we believe the kitten is as handsome as Stevie Ray, but maybe not as adventurous - yet.]
Here’s the LINK TO ANIMALS IN THE MESQUITE SHELTER.
CONTEMPLATIONS
NATIONAL CHANGE, CULTURAL SHIFT & HAIR
Connecting to our opening approach, before the challenge of hair, the major insult in America was the idiocy of racism. I remember these things: White Only water fountains, restrooms, movie entrances and seating, schools, seating on buses by race, etc. The other entrances and sites were designed as "COLORED ONLY" -- you probably knew that if you either lived in it or read a history book.  Idiocy in America. I still can’t believe what I saw in my childhood — or in my early reporter years in the ‘60s and ‘70s and sometimes beyond. God bless the people who triumphed. Here’s a SONG BY SAM COOKE that fits things. Has a great video with it. A visual tour of the past. ...
MOVING ALONG: ALLOW ME TO TRANSPORT YOU BACK TO THE MORNING AFTER THE BEATLES appeared on national TV on Ed Sullivan’s show. Here’s THE LINK .  The hairlines of American males began to look different as rock and soul stars got attention and connected with young lives. I cite this for the sake of children born to late to have lived through the "hair revolution." 
Show of male hands: Ever get sent home because your hair was too long — "too long" being “going down past the tops of your ears.”  The BIGGEST CLASSROOM/CHURCH/FAMILY CULTURAL CRISIS occurred after The Beatles rocked Ed Sullivan on Sunday night, Feb. 9, 1964. That’s the date the barbering and hairstyle industries got a wake-up call. The Beatles brought their rebellious hair styles to the rebellious youth of America.
INSPIRATIONAL HAIR? Between 1964 and 1967, hair grew in America and skirts shortened, as I recall. Anyway, since I didn’t wear a skirt, we’ll focus on hair. On Oct. 17, 1967, New York got the off-Broadway premier of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.” Sing along, “Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair….” Here’s the link to the original cast singing what became a hit for The Cowsills a couple of years later.  Scott McKenzie sang, “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair.” And, of course, there was the confrontation song, Loggin’s & Messina’s Your Momma Don’t Dance (And your Daddy don’t rock ’n’ roll) with the line, “Get outta the car, longhair!” We’d be remiss if we didn’t cite the 1969 album Abbey Road and The Beatles lines in Come Together that describe “old flat top” who is “grooving up slowly.” The line reads, “He got hair down to his knee - got to be a joker he just do what he please…” Hmmmm. The Hair Revolution -- maybe you did have to be there. I still get told I need a haircut.
—- Offer hair-care tips and revolutionary chants by clicking on ‘comment’ below or email [email protected] and put GET A JOB, LONGHAIR in the subject line. —-