This Is What You Do When You Get Ahead--Or A Head

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The other week, I got a head. No, not “ahead”. A head.

It came in the form of a plastic corrugated sign — a headshot of a teenager, cropped down so that it was just his head. No neck, no shoulders. Just head with hair.

I got this head because I was tasked with transporting half a carload of stuff to a high school graduation beach party that would also serve as a weekend family reunion of sorts. A lot of my extended family would be traveling there, so the host, who lives near me, needed help transporting a lot of party necessities. This oversized plastic head sign, measuring over 3 feet in diameter, was one of those necessities. Obviously.

This funny, though slightly odd head was given to its owner at Senior Night, the last athletic game of the season, where all the high school seniors on the team are celebrated. Part of the celebration was gifting each senior athlete a corrugated plastic head of themselves. The idea — as far as I could tell— was nothing other than to generate laughter.

The heads delivered. I can vouch. Especially since I took this teen’s head — I mean, head sign — during halftime and roamed the high school stadium area, taking photos of it against silly backdrops: the concession stand, sitting in a facility management golf cart, and next to various advertisement signage, most notably a criminal defense attorney.

I did all that because this family had just been through a very difficult time, and I was hoping any bit of laughter would be helpful.

After the load of stuff was dropped off in my kitchen, I noticed immediately that the famous head was in the pile. Could I have been any luckier? Doubtful. Thus, “Steph’s Getting A Head Project” began. The idea was to take a variety of photos and turn them into a spiral-bound manual titled, “What You Do When You Get Ahead”, which I’d gift to the teenage owner of the featured head at the beach party.

When you’re super busy, this is not the idea to come up with when you’re also madly in love with practical jokes.

Oh, well. I got straight to work.

Simultaneous with this masterpiece project was a flurry of world events that had everyone I knew in a state of unease— assassinations, missile strikes, protests, airplane crashes, tornadoes, news of tears/hate/worry. The world did not seem to be a friendly or safe place. So, I went gingerly about my photo shoots in a partial state of dismay and worry. The worry wasn’t front of mind necessarily, but always a creepy lurker in the back of it.

My first photo shoot with ole’ head-sign was at 7–11. Word on the street was that this teen loves this fine food establishment. I drove to a local 7–11, parked, and arranged my set design — a big head tucked into a verdant bush growing underneath a shabby 7–11 sign. This might not seem a highly artistic or original idea to you, but remember, I wasn’t getting paid for this, and I claim to possess no background in branding, photography, set production, or good ideas. You get what you pay for.

After I tucked the sign into the bush as a support structure, I stepped back to photograph with my old, old cell phone. Just then, a man getting into his car nearby gave me a big smile and thumbs-up. He was pro Steph’s Project. This brightened my day and gave me some encouragement. People are cool, I thought. 

Next was McDonald’s — again, thanks to word on the street (which was his mom). Post-photoshoot, as I climbed down from the steep hill where the big entrance sign was situated, a man resting in his car with the window open laughed heartily at what I’d just done. He didn’t speak English, but said something I couldn’t understand with a wide, robust smile. He kept laughing and pointing to the sign. His friendly, amused eyes gave me a jolt of happiness. My mood was slowly, but clearly, lifting as I took these wacky photos of a giant head-sign in random public places. I was starting to see what a gift of an idea this project might be.

From Mickey D’s, I drove to Dick’s Sporting Goods, a huge store with all manner of sporting and outdoor equipment. The head-sign I carried about was a representation of a real, live person who is deeply and expertly involved in all kinds of outdoor passions and pastimes. He’s remarkable, frankly. I’m in awe of this young man. I walked into Dick’s and straight over to the fishing equipment.

There, I leaned the sign against the bait and tackle display, and then the fishing rods. As I was doing so, several customers stopped to exchange smiles, laughs, jokes, thumbs up, and even stories about the high school head signs they had loved and interacted with in their lives. To say I was having the time of my life would be an understatement. I was having the time of many lives — all of us connected over this funny local tradition. Don’t count out the head-sign either. It never stopped smiling through the whole event.

I continued to the grocery store to set up a photoshoot in front of cheddar cheese crackers, a favorite. Then to Home Depot to set up in front of the welding equipment, a passionate hobby. Next to the forest, to tuck the head peeking from behind a tree, as the teen is an avid hunter. Finally, to a local playground to photograph the head swinging on a swing, because even a head needs some play time.

In each of these places, I interacted with people around me, all of them amused by what I was doing, all of them approaching with some kind of question, story, or enthusiastic greeting.

My fear of the state of the world faded for the duration of those photoshoots. My nutty idea to make this joke of a graduation gift was giving back to me joy in a time of a gray mindset.

When I arrived at the graduation beach party, I carried the gift-wrapped manual, an armload of luggage and food, and a mind-load of gratitude for people. The beloved teenager liked my masterpiece gift, and my family seemed to find amusement, too. I sure hope so. Laughter, wacky fun, practical jokes, amping up the humor living inside our shared struggles — these are the gifts available to all of us every day. We don’t necessarily think to seek them out, nor does every moment have room for them, but they’re sitting there ready for our notice. What I find most heartening is how many people respond to them favorably once they notice.

Maybe that’s because we’re all in this together. Or maybe it’s because a giant head sign is effective in shifting us from gloom to giggle. For me, it’s both, and I’m still giggling.

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Wishing laughter this week for you, my friends.