When being a sportscaster paid my bills, it seemed only one thing was really important. My knowledge of sports? My engaging personality? My ability to write stories. My golden-toned voice?

No, sports fans, it seems none of those things were the least bit crucial. You see, the most critical part of my job was my ability to style my hair. Which is pretty silly in retrospect, but which is true, since even now I find myself watching the local news and exclaiming,  “Geez! What’s with your hair?”

You’d think since I know better that I’d cut those anchors some slack. But…I don’t.

I fully remember the day I spoke with my mom following a show that went in spectacular fashion. “How’d you like SportsCenter last night?” I asked proudly. There was a brief pause before she replied. “I didn’t like your hair.”

Sigh…

I should have realized just how important my locks were when I got my first job in TV in Columbus, Georgia. They took a quick look at me, decided they didn’t like my straight tresses, and proceeded to have my hair permed. What followed was a constant progression of consultants who criticized my clothes, my makeup, my jewelry, and, most importantly, my hair.

I recently read an article titled “Ten Reasons Why Your Hair is the Most important Part of Your Look.” The reporter opined that nice hair enhances your beauty, can make you look like a professional or a bum, gives you confidence, and will make you feel smarter. I considered that last comment and couldn’t quite agree. Sherly Temple ringlets did not make me feel like I was a member of MENSA.

Note that hairstyling is certainly nothing new. Take, for example, the 30,000-year-old sculpture now known as the Venus of Willendorf. As you can see, our Paleolithic ancestors were already well into braids by then. And today there’s a lot of money in the global hair care market, which is expected to grow to $87 billion dollars annually by 2023.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a nice coif, but I do wish my former employers prized me for other things, like, you know, my interviewing skills or how nice I am. (Note that the latter is still under contention, since I wasn’t always nice. I’m working on it.) In any case, it appears our fixation with hair is here to stay, so I’m just going to roll with it. That said, I hope the local anchors understand when I yell at the TV.

PS

I’ve decided that if I’d had to choose between sportscasting and officiating, I’d have just blown whistles, since nobody cared about my hair on the gridiron.

ANCIENT RUINS, HAUNTED MEMORIES, AND A RUTHLESS CRIMINAL COMBINE WITH A TOUCH OF MYSTIC PRESENCE IN THIS TAUT MYSTERY ABOUT A CRIME WE ALL MUST ADDRESS.

THE CASTLE

Anne Montgomery

TouchPoint Press

Contemporary Women’s Fiction/Suspense

September 13, 2021

Maggie, a National Park Ranger of Native American descent, is back at The Castle—an ancient pueblo carved into a limestone cliff in Arizona’s Verde Valley. Maggie, who suffers from depression, has been through several traumas: the gang rape she suffered while in the Coast Guard, the sudden death of her ten-year-old son, and a suicide attempt.

One evening, she chases a young Native American boy through the park and gasps as he climbs the face of The Castle cliff and disappears into the pueblo. When searchers find no child, Maggie’s friends believe she’s suffering from depression-induced hallucinations.

Maggie has several men in her life. The baker, newcomer Jim Casey, who always greets her with a warm smile and pink boxes filled with sweet delicacies. Brett Collins, a scuba diver who is doing scientific studies in Montezuma Well, a dangerous cylindrical depression that houses strange creatures found nowhere else on Earth. Dave, an amiable waiter with whom she’s had a one-night stand, and her new boss Glen.

One of these men is a serial rapist and Maggie is his next target. In a thrilling and terrifying denouement, Maggie faces her rapist and conquers her worst fears once and for all.

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