A Greased Scalp

There is a tradition (a former tradition) in the African-American culture of greasing a person's scalp. What this entails is a person combing your hair, making parts in your hair, scratching the scalp, and then putting some hair grease (a toiletry for the hair) on the scalp.

It is a tradition that is no longer done because it has been said that greasing the scalp causes a lot of problems for the hair, as well as weighing the hair down.

I still grease my scalp; rather, I have someone grease my scalp. I only do it once a month, so it isn't that bad for me.

Getting your scalp greased is a very cathartic. It feels good to have someone's hand massage your scalp with loving hands. When your scalp is scratch that feels so good.

My mother used to do it when I was younger. That was the coolest thing because we would sit and talk while she did it.

My brother, Jerry, used to grease my scalp. Having him do it was funny because I had to give him money to do it. On top of that, he would do it quickly. There wasn't much love in it.

My husband, Boone (he goes by his last name), he does it now. He takes his time and gets every inch of my scalp. It helps that he likes playing in my hair, too. We have to watch Smallville while he does it, but that is cool with me.

I wish some of the old traditions that we had back in the day were not dying out. It seems like the stuff we used to do is old fashioned and cliche. I still enjoy some of the traditions we used to have.

I enjoy singing old hymns that I grew up with. I heard a preacher mention, "He's a Battle Ax," in a sermon he was preaching. I haven't heard that song in so long.

I enjoy the big family get togethers for holidays. I haven't been to one of those in a while. We did a smaller one for Christmas last year, but it wasn't the same as when I was younger. Check out this poem. I am talking about Christmas like in the poem.

I guess with the modernization of our society, some things fade away. I just wish they didn't.