Charles King Explores his New Mullet (and $11,000 raised for Haiti Relief!)
Posted by , February 24, 2010 at 7:11pm
Carine Jocelyn cutting King’s ponytail, as King screams
photos courtesy of Brett Deusch
Housing Works President and CEO Charles King auctioned off his long-held ponytail to raise money to support AIDS activists in Haiti. Megachurch pastor Rick Warren jumpstarted the bidding at $1,000, and altogether $11,000 was raised. The crowd at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe voted with their pocketbooks on Charles’ new haircut. They voted for mullet! Here’s Charles’ thoughts on the experience and video from the live auction with auctioneer Kathleen Guzman, and a picture of King with mullet!
I woke up this morning to more than a twinge of buyer’s remorse. If there is anything uglier than a mullet, it’s a mullet the day after. I did my best. I laid out $1,200 of my own smackers last night for what I describe as “the anchorman”—a respectable haircut that a typical businessman would have. And I had some friends helping me out. But in the end, the haters won out.
That’s alright. I will wear it with pride…but don’t be asking me to get a hair dryer and all kinds of gel to keep it standing up tall. Not gonna happen. I’m a natural kind of guy, and the spikes wouldn’t work with my black leather hat. I’m just a country boy from Texas, and we like our hair the way the good Lord made it. Okay, maybe I’ll mess with it on special occasions – like if I am going to be seen in public with someone I want to embarrass.
Now, for all the stupid questions: Yes, I miss my ponytail. I keep reaching to twist it, and there is nothing there. No, it wouldn’t make me feel better if it had more color. I like my gray just fine. Of course my head feels lighter. Did you see that big tail they cut off? Yes, I know it will grow back. (Actually, the truth is the mullet will grow back much faster than the anchorman, so there.) And indeed there are benefits in the short term. My shower this morning was five minutes shorter, and I didn’t have to clean all that hair out of the drain.
The truth is, I would cut off my ponytail a dozen times or more for my friends in Haiti. Last night’s haircut raised nearly $11,000 to support AIDS activists there rebuilding their organizations after the earthquake. I want to thank Rick and Kay Warren for putting up $1,000 to get the ball rolling. Carine Jocelyn, the executive director of Diaspora Community Services ponied up $950 to actually make the snipe. Also, Gina Quattrocchi from Bailey House, who came with her cane, even though Bailey House’s own big benefit is this week.
To all those who put up all that money for the crew cut, the bowl, the Mohawk, the shaved head, and the like, thank you, misguided as you are. To my friends who gave over $1,000 to save me from the mullet, why didn’t you bring more cash? And to all you haters out there, just know that your money is going to a good cause. I am deeply grateful.
See video from the event:
You can still contribute to support AIDS activists’ work in Haiti at housingworks.org/haiti
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