Friday, January 21, 2011

A Post I Dreaded




In my boldest and most brazen camera feat to date, tonight I accomplished this rare bit of stealth photography. In the grocery store checkout, we were behind this man. I was stunned by the length of his "dreads", or dreadlocks. I had never seen anything like it! Stupified, I reached in my purse for the camera. One quick snap while he was involved scanning. Then when he left, I followed him and got another shot walking away. The clerk was just staring, but she never said a word. Perhaps she was afraid to tangle with me, fearing I had lost my mind. And what did our friend purchase, what is that in each hand as he walks away? A box of something, and...a bouquet of long stemmed yellow roses. Samson had seven braids on his head, and I imagine they were longer than this, his hair had never been cut. Until that unfortunate incident with Delilah. Strong as he was, he never stood up very well under female nagging. Unlike what most people think, Delilah did not cut off his hair. She had a man come and shave it off. Aren't you glad that our strength rests in Jesus, who is our strength, and not in our hair?


"Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him." Judges 16:19

38 comments:

Dawning Inspiration said...

Yes, I am thankful for that!!!
And, whoa - long dreads... never seen any that long before!

seven_amps@yahoo.com said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Regina said...

Ginny, can I re-submit my comment (for some reason I have my address there instead of blog link. Would you mind putting mine in the trash?

Joyful said...

You had me giggling with your title and your photos. Great blog post. Nothing to laugh at when we can find our strength in Him. Blessings.

pam said...

wow...I've never seen dreads that long. I usually don't like to be close to people with dreads...at least around here...CAUSE THEIR HAIR STINKS SO BAD!!!!

SquirrelQueen said...

Love the title, I didn't know what to expect until I saw the dreads. You are getting to be one very brave photographer Ginny, good for you.

I see you have the mini header photo bug. It's a Blogger glitch, it's been reported but so far unfixed. I saw a post about it just before I went in to change one of my headers. It's still a very cool photo.

Reanaclaire said...

gosh..u were so brave! i dare not snap a picture of anyone at such close range unless i asked his permission... he didnt realize u took a pic of him? :)

aspiritofsimplicity said...

eewwww! that just yucks me out!

Ann said...

you had me worried for a second with your post title. I wish I could get braver and pull my camera out when I'm in the stores. I'm such a wimp sometimes. Those are some very long dreads, wow.

Rachel Cotterill said...

Very impressive hair! :)

Anonymous said...

You are very brave Ginny! Amazing hair!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I just had to come back three hours after my first comment to say DUH! I just got the pun there...post I dreaded...I needed about three cups of tea before I got it.

Arti said...

You are really very brave to do that, Ginny.. I can understand what you must have gone through!!
In India, we have sages who do penance for several years and keep such dreads.. In my travels, I have come across many such sages but havent been as brave as you!
Keep it up, Ginny!
Bravo!
Have a Great day:-)

MadSnapper said...

ditto on the gosh you were brave. i can't beleive you did it. i would have wanted to but would not. these kinds of dreads are added to their hair and are fake. so don't know what the purpose is. there was a kid on american idol with dreads, not this long though. and he would have been so handsome without them, or at least to my eyes. i wonder who the roses were for. i like the light shining in the header, perfect for letting your light shine.

RoeH said...

This is just.....uhhhhh...interesting. There. That's a word for it. I wonder how long it takes to do that. And how do they do it. I never have my camera that handy. He's probably a happy fella.

MadSnapper said...

just read all your comments on kileau, have no idea what is happening, ignore all comments i made by email. i have not changed mine for over a week, but will be changing it monday

Neal said...

Wow, that is amazing.

Ruth Hiebert said...

You are a gutsy lady.I would be to embarrassed to do that.Guess I had better get my nerve u,because I did enjoy your pictures.Have a great Saturday.
Ruth

Fred Alton said...

Wikipedia says, "The first known examples of dreadlocks date back to East Africa and some parts of North Africa. Masai men found in the regions of northern Tanzania and southern Kenyahave been wearing dreadlocks for as long as they have survived. There hasn't been official date of the "start" of Maasai dreadlocks but its a tradition that has been going on for thousands of year. Ironically the Maasai women shave their heads while the men wear dreadlocks. Until today, Masai men can be found easily donning their dreadlocks, with a tint of red color from the soil."

I've seen them in person and asked one of our church men about it. He said, "That's just a sign that he's one of the Lord's woolly little lambs!"

Wikipedia also said, "Dread has a positive connotation in Rastafarian dialect, and can be used as an adjective, indicating a man who "fears the Lord." I don't mean to imply that they know Jesus.

Karin said...

You are really getting paparazzi skills! On the first picture it almost looks to me like these dreads are sown onto his hat and that he's got this outfit on for a part in a play he's doing! Perhaps he's doing a psychology experiment - like the man who looked like a homeless person - went into church, sat in the front row - meanwhile no one had greeted him - then stood up, removed his outfit and went up to the pulpit to preach! Would have loved to have been there!

That Samson story always leaves me sad!

S. Etole said...

what an unusual sight ...

and the roses

Mary Bergfeld said...

I wonder what the woman he bought the flowers for looked like. Your camera captures the most interesting things. Have a great day, Ginny. Blessings...Mary

Anonymous said...

Amazing dreadlocks! I've never seen that length before. Loved the title of your post...got me thinking...Ginny dreads?? What could it be? But you're brave to snap away. I don't think I could've done that.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

I agree, I am thankful for that! Long??
kim

Anonymous said...

Hia Ginny, thanks for popping in at my blog. I'm glad my creations brought a smile to your face.

I don't know any Kaulketts but the surname is derived from the Old English for an exposed cottage location. There is a Caldecott by Abingdon in Oxfordshire but this is one of many in England. What county were your Mother's family from?

Stephanie V said...

Talk about stealth photography...you go, Ginny! Those are great shots. Around here folks with dreads that long usually wear them in a big baggy crocheted cap.
Dare you go in that supermarket again?

George said...

Those are some amazing dreadlocks. So are you now going to become a full-time paparazzi?

Lady Jane said...

WOW... You certainly know how to relate a subject. Good job!!! You do know not to take a person's face unless you have permission. You could end up in cement shoes and I would miss ya...

Regina said...

Where in the heck did you go?! Well know I understand you were changing your templates but I haven't..thats why it's got to be blogger. Anyway, what I do isn't difficult at all. There is a little icon at the top of my page (for the artist who does those backgrounds)..I only switch off with a few of hers and another lady's) because they are dark and make your photos stand out. You just copy her code below the background your like and keep your template the same. So if your using 3 column manina (I think that's what it's called), you use her 3 column (it says what it is) and put it in your (javascript)..you know, those boxes (add a gadget) you open? Anywho..

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

The Rastafarian men do not cut their hair, and often wear long dreadlocks like thses. Neither do
male Sikhs of the Punjab, India, who do not cut their hair and instead wrap it in a turban.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, Another really unique post! I think your theme with Sampson is quite appropriate. Have a great day!

LV said...

I can readily see why this would catch your eye. Perhaps it was someone in disguise.

Chatty Crone said...

I second it. I'm thankful for that.

I can see why you took a picture - very unusual. Buying roses - must be a great guy.

sandie

Regina said...

Well..you heard my whole story already! Anyway..I love this post- you know your header is really pretty! Hey, they aren't doing that anymore (the small photo) so maybe it's solved and you just have to monkey around? It's frustrating.
Ya, I took those (most except the arial shots are archives..but, my husband put recent ones in backup for me as initially I thought it was a virus. Picasa is great but you wind-up with a ton due to tweeking and re-sizing! You know they are all in the google storage..even the ones you delete- plus next to say any other ones you happend to darken or whatever (if you use Picasa that is)? My blog background is really for two column cause that lady didn't do a 3..little squished?

Mary Ann Pickett said...

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mary Ann

Valerie said...

I don't think I could be as brave or as stealthy as you were - snapping that photo! Has - what a hoot - folks must have secretly smiled wishing they had the nerve (like I am secretly doing)

Have you ever read what you do to create dreads. It is dreadful!. When my youngest said something about doing that - I had him read up on it and he changed his mind!

One of my worst faults though is judging someone by their outward appearance. How frustrated I get when people do that with me - and then I go and do the same thing. You made me think this morning!

LC said...

Loved the stealth photography. Have been having trouble getting on your blog. Plus, comment on latest post disappeared, but that could well be operator error, mine not yours. Anyway, best wishes with resolving header issues. I love your photos BIG, and the amazing shrinking header photo cannot be enlarged by clicking it! Have a great week.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

You were very alert and creative to snap the photo to suit your story.

I am not brave like you, always worrying he might not be happy.

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