Me and a man bun? No chance but it is fun to think about

It's that time of the year again. What are your new year's resolutions? Lose weight? Stop smoking? Be a better person? Go to church more? Share some of your money with those less fortunate? The list goes on and on. How many people will be in the local gyms come Monday morning on the treadmill or bike? How many people will I see walking early in the morning at Veterans Memorial Lake Park? (If you see me, I am the guy with the bright light in my hat, thanks to my wife, Jody, and the little dog that likes to sniff and pee on every inch of the park). This is a happy new year for Jody and I with a new son-in-law, Anthony, and two new grandchildren, Kaylie and Parker. Megan's wedding was great and we are so thankful for the additions to our family. I have been thinking what I can do this year. Tops on my list is just to be a better person. But this year I want to do something special and it hit me when we were at Christmas Eve Mass. The Rev. Michael Bialorucki, associate pastor at St. Paul Catholic Church, said the Mass and he is a pleasure to listen to. He also works with the students at Norwalk Catholic and St. Paul High schools and does a great job. He was the guy who helped carry and wave the big St. Paul flag when the Flyers scored and he always is involved in the students' activities. But more than that, Fr. Michael has something I have never seen from a priest — he has a man-bun. My goal in 2022 is to grow a man-bun. If I only could. My days of fancy hair, or for that matter, any hair at all, are in the rearview mirror. I am amazed when I watch the young people these days from high school to professional athletes and look at their hair. Short. Long. Man-buns. Ponytails. Braids. Shaved. Red hair. Blue hair. There is a little bit of everything. I remember when I was in high school I had long hair but it was nothing like this. It was just a mop of hair and that was it. When I was walking the halls of Livonia Stevenson High School back in the mid-1970s, it was the jocks vs. the freaks. To play football you needed almost a buzz-cut to get on the field. Coach Jack Reardon was from the old school and there were on ponytails on our team. I do remember a big jar of salt pills and driving the seven-man sled for miles and miles, but we couldn't have long hair or beards. Once the season was over the hair started to grow, both on my head and face. After awhile you couldn't tell what team I was on — the jocks or the freaks. I graduated in a class of 750 so we had a little bit of everything. But I don't remember anybody having a man-bun. I know Jody will laugh when she reads this. I have no chance of a man-bun, but it is fun to think about. I hope everybody does something good in 2022. It is going be be tough as the COVID-19 numbers keep going up, but once we get through this surge I'm hoping for bigger and better things next year. Maybe you can consider getting the vaccine. That would be a great new year's resolution. Happy New Year to everybody. Joe Centers is Reflector managing editor. He can be reached at jcenters@norwalkreflector.com.