Today is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day.

Banks are closed, there will be no mail, and most government offices and all public schools are closed.

Regardless of how one feels about a special holiday honoring a man, it should be a day to reflect on our dreams.

Do you have a dream?

Do you have more than one?

Dr. Martin Luther King lived in a time when there was no equality for all men in America.  We may have been created equal, but all men were not treated equally.

I am glad those times are gone, I’m glad that we can be proud to say that all people have an opportunity to strive, to achieve, to succeed. 

But, more than honoring a man who fought hard and sacrificed his life for what he believed, this should also be a day where we as Americans dare to dream.  Dare to strive, dare to work, dare to achieve, and dare to succeed.

I have several dreams. 

Some are selfish, some are alturistic, and some are idealistic.

But I have a dream.

Do you?

…Any Thing Else.

I’d like to say, “Just get over it!”

But it really isn’t that easy.

And in most cases, that’s all you can do, because, if it’s gonna’ happen, it’s gonna’ happen. 

A lot of it is hereditary.  But there other reasons as well.

Since UP isn’t a doctor, I’ll leave the reasons to the experts…google it, there’s a ton of stuff out there.

But with me, I was not quite 17 when I started losing my hair.

A Junior in High School.  It made dating a little difficult, hard, non existant!

When I look at the pictures, I can see it now.  But then…DENIAL!

Big time denial.

By the time I was 20, I was as bald then as I am now.

But still, DENIAL!

I even committed the unpardonable sin of buying a toupee.

An expensive toupee.

It was 1972, it cost $600.00.  Now, for someone making $105 a week as a telphone operator at Ohio Bell Telephone, that was a lot of cash to lay out.

But, I bought it anyway.

Regrets?

Well duh!

Yes there were.

I eventually grew up.  I wore it about two years, and it was a total pain.

Toupees stay on your head with two sided tape.  If you aren’t bald when you buy one, you will be soon.

Since most of the men in my family were already bald, or headed that way, I accepted it. 

It was hard, but as the years wore on, I realized that it was me.

My children have never seen me with hair, my wife dated me and married me – even though I was bald, and her Grandmother said over and over, “but he’s bald!”

So, guys, life can go on.

There weren’t many choices back in 1972.

It were either toupees or the dreaded “comb-over”, which sadly, we see from time to time even today.

Ok boys, STOP IT NOW!

Now, there are many more choices.

Transplants, surgery, scalp stretching (I don’t think so!) and all the tricks the Bosley Group has up thier sleeves.

My plan, my advice, MY CHOICE, accept it.

Go with the flow, it’s much easier.

And if these guys can look great bald, why can’t we all?

The King of Bald – Yul Brenner

The American Idol of Bald – Chris Daughtry

Action Star of Bald – Bruce Willis. 

Sci Fi of Bald - Patrick Stewart

 Donald Faison – Scrubs of Bald

And, the Grandaddy of them all…

Bond, James Bond – Bald!

and of course, this one…

Really, grooming doesn’t get any easier.

The rich are rethinking their priorities since we’re in a recession and all.  And throwing money around is just so…”pre-recession”.

Hmmm.  So money does talk.

And it’s telling some of them to stop spending.

35% of the wealthy are concerned that their children are too spoiled by money and have too many material possessions.

Well, DUH!

Aren’t most of us a little spoiled?

I know I am.

But the rich have “finally” come to their senses, realizing that money doesn’t buy happiness, and a $100 million trust fund doesn’t buy as much as it used to.

With Madoff Madness, Bush Bailouts, Car Company Crashes, and Obama Optimization, I guess times are hard for every one…

…yes, even Daddy Warbucks!

It seems that all the blue bloods are curbing their spending.

They have decided that their children don’t need all the material possessions that we all crave and covet.

What does this mean for rest of us?

Possibly, new products that entertain  as well as help.

Fewer donations to Charity?

Apparently not on that one…a good sign.

In some cases, it means less work for the service industry.

Afterall, some folks have fired the nanny and even learned their own childnren’s names.

And it means simply that people who should have known all along, now realize that “things” aren’t the things that bring happiness.

 Some are even suffering from  ”Luxury Shame”!

Luxury Shame is best exampled by a rich fat cat sitting in front of another rich fat cat who is a congressman and explaining his $20 million bonus. 

Fortunately, the congressman gets to ask the questions, not answer them.

And Luxury Shame is causing sales to drop at high end car dealerships, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and other pricy places to purchase pleasures.

But, what about the rest of us.

Here I go again, assuming that my readers are normal regular working stiffs like me!!  But, most of us are simply that, working class people who try to do the best we can with what we have.

Most of us realize that even though the BMW, Bulgari, and Beach House on Biscayne Bay would be nice, it’s not what’s doing it for us.

Or anyone else for that matter.

“Things” like faith, family, home, health, and happiness are what matter.

The rest, they just make life more complicated.