2010: Hair Yesterday, Gone Today

So Houston hair-care king Farouk Shami is in the race, pledging to spend $10 million to win a Democratic primary in which the majority of voters are still undecided. Among the interesting things to watch will be the dynamic between Shami and his rival for the nomination, Kinky Friedman, as the two are well acquainted: Shami was the subject of one of Kinky's fawning TEXAS MONTHLY columns (edited by yours truly) back in 2003 -- the sort of piece in which he would go all gooey over someone he professes to love, like Racehorse Haynes or Jim Nabors. In it, Kinky's longtime friend and financial backer, shampoo mogul John McCall, is quoted as saying of Shami, "[He's] the greatest hairstylist in the world," and "Everything [he] touches turns to gold." That was then. Today -- well, a dismissive reference to Shami as would-be Governor I-Can-Give-You-Good-Hair should be coming any minute now.