Auntie Chick's Hair

When I was small, Auntie Chick's hair was jet black. She dyed it herself, of course, in the kitchen sink. But Auntie Chick was a smart woman and she knew to gradually lighten her hair colour as the years wore on. Dark hair set against an aging face only serves to emphasize wrinkles, she explained. Her hair passed through various shades of brunette and then lighter browns until, in her senior years, it was a pale beige. Once I made the mistake of referring to her hair as beige. "It's not beige," she said indignantly. "It's champagne gold!"