If Dave 鈥淜iller鈥� Carlson ever has to go through chemotherapy, Reid Jackson has him covered.
The Jasperite has been inspired by his wife Jessica鈥檚 latest effort to raise a few dollars for cancer research this winter. As she prepares to chop off her straight black locks for a third time so a hairpiece for a chemotherapy patient can be made, Reid is looking forward to one more Super Sunday at the Jasper arena with his epic curly mullet.
His do would look at home on the head of Carlson, one of the madcap characters from the cult classic 1977 hockey comedy Slap Shot. It鈥檚 so curly it doesn鈥檛 actually look like he has achieved the eight-inch minimum length required to donate to Locks of Love.
鈥淚鈥檝e grown this mullet and it鈥檚 been a lot of fun with hockey and stuff,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was worth it to grow it just for the fun, so to be able to donate it now is awesome. They grade it when they cut it, so they鈥檒l straighten it out then.鈥�
Both of them will have their hair cut on March 21 after one last push for donations at the Super Sunday house league tournament on March 19.
Jessica, who works at Wildflowers Childcare and the RCMP detachment, has been switching her hair style with drastic length changes since she was a teen. She鈥檚 chopped her hair twice and shaved her head once.
The last time she did it, she raised $1,900 for the Jasper Cancer Support Group. It was a number of years ago before online donation pages and Go Fund Me campaigns entered the mainstream.
鈥淚 like to switch up my hair, and I wanted to cut my hair off, so while I鈥檓 doing that, why not raise some money and donate it,鈥� she said.
In April, Reid is heading to Vancouver to start a compressed nine-month course in appliance repair with plans to return as a working apprentice and fill a gap in the Jasper economy. He already has the business incorporated.
鈥淚鈥檒l be able to stay here forever.鈥�
The couple has raised $2,000 of their $3,000 goal. To donate, visit their Canadian Cancer Society page at .
Craig Gilbert
