I sometimes get asked how I came up with the unique color green I use for my hair... I hadn't thought about it for awhile but the mention of it last night made me remember the hairdresser I first got it from.

I was on the run. Contract out on me after I failed to deliver on a shipment. Of course it didn't help that the buyer was a powerful man who knew I worked for the Alliance... that fact made it likely the Imperial's were after me too. So I walked into the salon outside Coronet with only a few bucks in my pocket and no safehouse left to turn to. After my eyes adjusted to the lighting I was amazed at the verbal banter going back and forth. Turns out I'd walked into a 'gay' salon. I turned to go when my arm was taken by a guy wearing hot pants. His name was Sean and quickly started fussing with my hair without letting me get a word in edgewise.

He called me honey child and babe... was strange watching this little guy flirt with every thing that had two legs. Turns out he used to be the cabin boy to Admiral Veers but left after he noticed that the benefits didn't offset the predilection for very early death benefits to one's dependents. That and he told me that Admiral Veer's 'blaster' was only an inch long when fully loaded.

After cleaning up the spit take I did hearing that I found myself sharing that I needed work. He took one look at my hands and said I'd do. He even gave me the haircut and dye for free. I spent several months earning my Image Designer liscence in that shop, learning a trade, and how to hide myself in plain sight by being the most flamboyant personality possible. I learned the z-snap and many other socially significant clues from my friends there, and by the time I left I had a new appreciation for the boot strap of the Empire. Of course some of my new friends liked boot straps... but only in certain aspects of their lives. *laugh*

I tried to look up Sean a little while back. Turns out he was taken from us by the scourge that got so many of those with his orientation.... I miss him... but he lived life larger than anyone I know... a lesson I'm still learning.