The Oil of Memory

Vitalis Hair Oil: that's what we used on our hair for school pictures each autumn when my brothers and I were boys. Mom would slick our hair into order, and our pale foreheads would shine in each photo, the only part of our faces not having been browned by the summer sun.

Later, she'd shift us to Protein 29 gel. Dad, I think, stayed true to the Vitalis for years to come.