The big day had finally arrived.

And 9-year-old Deja Calzada felt both nervous and excited.

In just a little while, Deja/s grandmother, Maricela, would be cutting the girl/s hair. The haircut would be Deja/s first in four years, and only her second ever.

A little trim surely would/ve been no big deal, but the dramatic chop the two had planned was a different story.

"I/m feeling a little scared," said Deja, as she sat waiting Thursday afternoon inside House of Charm, the hair studio and salon her grandmother manages in Santa Maria.

Even Maricela teared up when she spoke of cutting her granddaughter/s almost mid-thigh length locks.

"I like her with long hair," she said of Deja, a fourth-grader at Robert Bruce Elementary.

Acknowledging this feeling of loss as a result of the haircut, both grandmother and granddaughter expressed that cutting Deja/s hair, and donating the hair to Locks of Love, was more important.

Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 across the U.S. suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

The donation of her hair to the organization holds a particularly warm spot in Deja/s heart, as her father, Manuel, died of cancer almost three years ago.

"My dad had cancer," Deja answered when asked why she was cutting her hair. "Maybe me cutting my hair will give other kids ideas (about donating their hair)."

Deja explained she started asking her grandmother months ago if she would cut Deja/s hair. Maricela, who had donated her own hair to Locks of Love several years earlier, told Deja about the organization, and asked her to think about donating her hair. Deja thought it was a great idea and decided to do it.

She added she wanted her grandmother to cut it because "I love her."

Besides, why would she pay someone else to cut it, when her grandma could cut it for free, Deja said.

Deja/s younger sisters, Danyella and Maricela, were also there to witness their big sis getting her hair cut.

"I/m happy because my grandma did it and my sister did it and she/ll be donating the hair to cancer people," said Danyella, 8, said.

Maricela, 6, noted she was also happy about what her sister was doing.

The sisters/ younger brother, Sylviano, 5, was not present.

Thursday/s haircut, and the donation to follow, is a fitting way to honor her son, Maricela said.

"I think it/s nice, especially since it/s around the time of another anniversary," Maricela said.

Manuel, who was 31 when he died, was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus on Feb. 14, 2001.

He died a little more than a year later on Feb. 24, 2002.

Many in Manuel/s family 77 which also includes his other children Stephanie, 17, Manuel Jr., 15, and Andrew 13 77 memorialize him in various ways including participating in the local Relay for Life event each year, attending a Mass at their church held in his honor on the Sunday before the anniversary of his death and visiting the cemetery where he is buried.

There was also a tree planted in Waller Park in his honor, Maricela added.

"He liked to tease his kids," said Maricela, who cares for the sisters and their brother in her home. "He was a big kid himself."

Life has been tough since the death of her son 77 who also lived with Maricela, her husband, Ruben, and four of his children, before his death 77 and the death of Ruben in April, but the bond between Maricela and her grandchildren has strengthened.

"Now it/s just me and the girls and Sylviano," she said.

Deja remembered the times she would go to the park and the beach with her dad.

She also remembered how her dad would play with her and her siblings, and make tents with them by draping blankets over furniture in the living room.

"He used to clown around," Deja said, with Danyella adding that sometimes he would act like a monkey.

"I know that my dad loved me a lot," Deja said.

The day after the haircut, Maricela said that her granddaughter felt pleased about what she had done.

"She said, /I just feel so happy,/" Maricela said.

* Staff Writer Britt Fairchild can be reached at 739-2220 or by e-mail at bfairchild@pulitzer.net.

Jan. 22, 2005