From one white-haired person

CHRIS DROST
Staff

I CAN'T HELP BUT watch with dismay, the controversy surrounding Lisa LaFlamme's sudden departure as CTV news anchor and senior editor. After all, I personally have had what some call, “arctic white” hair since I turned 30.

For more than 10 years I faithfully dyed my hair, always trying to return it to the dirty blonde hair I had lived with throughout my youth. Then, at age 40, I realized that it was probably not good for me to keep putting these chemicals on my head, particularly since it had to be done frequently to cover the quickly emerging white hair.
Like many of us, I came by this white hair honestly. My father and paternal grandparents had the same white hair from an early age.
I even remember a time when my grandmother would return from the beauty salon with a blue rinse on it, a bit of a trend in the 60s I suppose.

During my 40s and 50s as other family members and friends took to getting their hair colour from a bottle, I somehow resisted. I knew that it probably made me look older than I actually am, but that wasn't enough to give in and colour it again.
In more recent years, a number of friends and acquaintances, and even my dear sister, have decided to let their hair go the way nature intended. These women are strong willed, intelligent and beautiful people who wear every gray or white strand of hair with pride. They earned those white hairs.
I have often questioned people who fight old age. You know, the ones who are always not only colouring their hair but getting their eyes done, chin reduced, liposuction and the bags around their eyes removed. While for some, this perhaps makes them feel good, makes them happier. For me personally, I maintain that aging gracefully, and naturally, is the only way to go.

Of course, if taking those steps to try and stop the aging process is something that is meaningful to you, by all means, go ahead. It is just not for me.
Now that Lisa LaFlamme has a new gig working for City TV being a royal correspondent, hopefully she can get over being tossed aside because she didn't fit the new vibe the station wanted to portray.

You might not realize it but there are some advantages of having white hair. My husband tells me that in a crowd I stand out like a beacon, although that may not be the case in Bancroft. I have often attended an event where most of the people in the audience were part of a sea of gray and white hair.
Since the older age group is quickly becoming the predominant number in Canadian society, perhaps organizations such as CTV should start thinking a little harder before making such decisions.

There is a lot of knowledge, determination and experience under those white hairs that they should respect.
It is good to see LaFlamme was recently invested into the Order of Canada.