I had a great trip in Minnesota, and except a few hours on the sunny beach, wore my bald head all the time. I posted before that the hardest part about going about bald is that I always got the cancer question - and it's pretty awkward to say no, just alopecia, especially to survivors.
And in Minnesota I got no cancer inquiries. None. Great Necklace! Nice Shoes! Love your earrings. But no one mentioned anything about the bald head.
One person walking by said "Nice haircut!" I think that was about the closest a Minnesotan could come to acknowledging the situation directly. It was refreshing in a way to not have to answer the question, but there was a small part of me that was thinking "Do people think I have cancer and just aren't saying anything? Don't they care?" Minnesotans are pretty well known for a syndrome called Minnesota Nice - they are pretty darn nice to everyone they meet, but it may take a while to get to the heart of the matter and get to know them in a more intimate way.
So it was refreshing to reconnect with some old friends, and really share some of our joys and pains as honestly as we could. Kindness is good. So is intimacy, and asking the hard questions. I'm going to try and do both.
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