I grew up in a small town in NW Minnesota. I remember going to the barber shop and how he would put a board up on the old school, black leather barber chair. I was only five and needed be elevated so he could cut my hair. After completing the haircut, the barber would dust the hair off with a brush and vacuum my neck clean. Then, he'd put a few splashes of hair tonic on his hands, slap them together a few times, and give what was left of my mane a good old dose of hair tonic that smelled like the Lutheran Church on Sunday mixed with some kind of flowery smelling oil. Mom paid him (he only accepts cash to this day) and he would slide the cash into a wooden drawer, pat me on the back, and thank us for coming in.
I found this recent article in the New York Times on some high end barber in NYC, pairing five dollars coffee with expensive haircuts, and some shops even give you a good bourbon or micro brew to make the hair cutting experience all the more mellow.
I am a fan of the little, small town barber shops and the fact that many still cut your hair for 10 bucks. This price doesn't include a fancy beer or coffee, but it does provide for something that is becoming rarer and rarer in the age of smart phones and social media. Going to the barber has always been a good time to catch up on local stories and hear about the hay crop, or how the mink got into the hen house and killed some of the barber's chickens, and his idea on how to trap the mink so it wouldn't get all of his eggs producers. Going to my local barbershop is a great way to hear excellent narratives, and in-person. I still go to the same barber as when I was five, and he doesn't have to ask how to cut it, and we always start talking about how our families have been and ten dollars later I have a clean haircut and the feeling of talking to a real human without the interference of any electronic gadgets.
Here are some pictures of barber shops:
Barber Shop in Verona, MS
Barber Shop Down South
New Jersey Barber Shop
No comments:
Post a Comment