Barbershop

 I got a haircut today.  I love getting a haircut.  I didn’t always feel that way.  Mr. Archie Sims was the barber in town for many years.  He would tell anyone who would listen that I was the hardest and worst first haircut he ever gave!  Mama said I screamed, cried, thrashed, and kept trying to run away the whole time! I have changed my attitude toward haircuts since then!

For many years only women cut my hair.  I don’t know why it worked out that way but it did.  Several years ago, a nice girl moved to Utica with her new husband and opened a hair shop in town.  I started going to her and she gave me the best haircuts I’ve ever had.  I just loved her.  Everyone in town loved her.  Then one day she killed herself.  Nobody could figure out why, but the whole town was devastated. 

So I had to find a new barber.  I tried the barber school at the local community college.  It had one attractive feature, 50¢ haircuts. (I did tip the student, usually $5!) But, like many things in life, you get what you pay for!  They tried, they did their best, and one or two didn’t do a bad job, but I wasn’t happy.  My friend Mike used to tease me for going there.  I told him there are worse ways to spend a morning than having a pretty 20 year old girl rubbing your head!  But I needed to find a permanent solution.

So I asked around to see where other guys went.  Several recommended a shop in Vicksburg that was an old fashioned men’s barber shop.  I hadn’t been to a shop like that in 20 years or more.  But I gave it a try.  I walked in and it was like a trip back in time.  The smell of hair tonic. The buzz of the clippers. The old men sitting around shooting the bull.  I was hooked!  I felt right at home!  The barber was a young guy who was an interesting conversationalist who did a great job on my hair! The other guys in the shop were friendly and soon I was one of the “regulars”.  He uses the clippers, which I really didn’t like at first, but he knows what he’s doing. And the best part is, when he’s done, I get a hot lather neck shave and a hot towel neck massage!  I told him once that it’s worth the price of a haircut for that hot lather and hot towel!  

As I’ve gotten older, I have come to enjoy life’s simple pleasures more and more.  A haircut is one of my favorite simple pleasures. It’s relaxing and I just feel better after a fresh clip. If you’re having a bad day, I heartily recommend a haircut in an old fashioned barber shop!  It’ll change your attitude!  

 

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