Dear Ena,

I am so glad serendipity (or the fates) brought us together. Since I don’t live in Orlando and cannot rave about you in person I would like to share my experience here.

I contacted you via your web site when I knew that I would be in your area and told you this: I am currently on maintenance chemotherapy that affects my hair growth so I'm keeping my head shaved. It's too darned hot to wear wigs or even scarves so I frequently go bareheaded but my plain bald pate is a canvas crying out for decoration.

We were able to get together my first night there and as the photos show you decorated it magnificently and my bald pate was no longer bald! I had a stunning cap that was as cool and breezy as could be.

I was in Orlando to help plan my nieces’ wedding and spent quite awhile in the Millennia Mall the next day (a good 2-3 hours of it sitting in the main throughfare of Macy’s at the Lancome counter getting our makeup done). I got lots of compliments. Most of them of the ‘that’s awesome!’ variety. I wished I’d had your business card to hand out. I got more of the same in the College Park Publix on Wednesday morning and everywhere else we went while we were there.

I posted the photos on my Caring Bridge web site and received many more complements from friends and family. These are two of my favorites:

"Mom, that just ROCKS!!! I love it love it love it. You look beautiful." From my daughter and, “That is so cool. I love it. Makes me want to go shave my head.” From a co-worker.

I was telling a friend that I realized that when I go out bald (bald now means with no adornment) I find myself making much more eye contact with strangers and greeting them all with a smile. I believe it's my effort to put them at ease. Having a beautiful design/cap on my head does the work for me. I don't want to get too philosophical but I will say that the adornment has done exactly what I hoped/expected it would. It eliminates the 'oh, isn't it sad, that lady is bald' response and replaces it with who knows what, but not that. And… it's a real conversation starter; I found my errands taking longer because of people’s interest.

In short, meeting you and wearing your beautiful work on my head has been a very positive experience that has generated a lot of happiness and goodwill along the way. Thank you so much, and, as my daughter would say, You ROCK!

Sincerely,

Susan I.