Word: balding
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...field without grass is an eyesore," wrote the Roman poet Ovid, "so is a tree without leaves, so is a head without hair." For centuries, bald and balding men have winced at such unkind references to their predicament. Conditioned to regard hairlessness as a male curse second only to impotence, they have historically taken drastic measures to undo their baldness. Some have pretended to own hair, bewigging their shining pates with nylon or natural locks; others have recycled what little thatching they have left, combing a few camouflaging strands across their brows or having "plugs" transplanted from one part...
...ingredient: minoxidil, a highly touted drug that, in tablet form, had already been approved to treat high blood pressure. Only by accident did researchers discover that minoxidil could also regrow hair. Anticipating a vast new market for the drug, Upjohn developed a liquid version and began testing it on bald heads. After twelve months, 39% of the men tested had moderate-to-dense hair growth on their crowns; 61% showed no growth...
...what about those poor bald souls for whom Rogaine is not recommended? Ovid's fellow Roman, the epigrammatist Martial, may have had the best advice: "Be content to seem what you really are, and let the barber shave off the rest of your hair...
Nunn does nothing to balance the ticket in terms of charisma. Aggressively bland and boring, he insists on speaking his paragraphs in a Mister Rogers monotone. Nunn's only touch of vanity is the careful left-to-right sweep of hair to cover his expansionary bald spot...
...through the ruddy shadow of the Rockies. The California Zephyr route takes passengers past places they would normally miss -- like Thompson, Utah, where the presence of the train doubles the size of the town. And the Ruby Canyon, the throat-tightening Donner Pass. For additional company, there are bald eagles, elk, prairie dogs, deer springing up alongside the tracks at twilight as the car slides past, cameras flashing from the windows. Even a bored 15-year-old cannot maintain her sangfroid in the face of such a host, and wrenches the camera from her father's hands...