It started with John Buyas when he decided to donate his hair to The Locks of Love. What better way to do it than to gather up a bunch of dart players and have 'em throw in a few extra bucks to raffle the chance to cut off the ever famous "mullet."

Illusions, in support of the effort, threw a special $500 shoot on April 16th and people showed up in numbers (28 for the dart tournament and more just to watch).

And so it came to be that I found myself throwing five bucks into the bowl and collecting my tickets for the shot at the cuttin'. Lo and behold, my number was called and I was surprised to see a very calm John Buyas ready for me to do the deed.

Though he didn't seem nervous, we thought we ought to buy the man a shot, which he took with gusto (there's always a good reason for a shot, eh?). Then it was time to go for it.

People gathered up to watch. The tournament seemed to come to a standstill while everyone cheered John on. What is it about a public haircut that does this to people?

With his hair properly bound to mark "the spot" I held up the scissors. Oddly, there was a flutter in my belly. You see, I've never cut anybody's hair, except for my little sister's when she was five, and that ended with a trip to the beauty parlor and what ended up looking like a Sandy Duncan do. And, little did John know that I had a couple o' shots myself! Anyway, I was as careful as possible; it was tough getting through that thick hair (I almost got a hand cramp) but with Carrie McKenna's skillful braiding in preparation, John's hair looked pretty darn good when it was done.

That same night, Scott McNeill got the bug to get his hair cut too. He liked John's idea from the get go, but he wasn't sure his hair met all the criteria for donation. However, Scott read the article in last month's Medallion and learned that his hair was, indeed, prime donation material! We set the date for the next Illusions big shot: May 7th. This time there was less prep-time, announcements only on the Hurricane web site. Still, there were 38 people for the dart tournament and $80 in raffle money! And this time, the hair prep was more last-minute, giving the term "pony up" a whole new meaning. But Scott the donor was ready for action. When the winning number was announced, it was Big Mike Maskell holding the lucky ticket and he quickly reached for the trimming shears. Yes, trimming shears.

It took some convincing, but Mike traded the gardening implement for something more appropriate and Scott walked away looking like quite the Dapper Don.

Overall, the nights raised $190 in cash for The Locks of Love, and some really nice hair that will get used in the charity's good works. Hats off to the two darting buddies who let us share their charity. And kudos to those who participated by buying raffle tickets. Dart tournaments are always a lot of fun, but these two haircuts brought even more hoopla to the party.