The Barber Shop

A few years back there was a film called "Barbershop" that was about an African American neighborhood barber shop in south Chicago.  While a work of fiction there's really nothing fictional about it.  There are scores neighborhood barber shops where reality seems to shift when you step inside.  I'm not talking about the chains where the stylists turn over every 6 months and it's basically Walmart/Great Clips hair salon.  I'm talking about the old fashioned shop where the barbers are the owners and they've been standing there for years cutting the hair of the same clientele. 

I go to a similar shop where the guy cutting hair, Rich, was an Army barber in the Vietnam war.  He came home, bought a little hole in the wall, and he's been standing there directing conversation for 40 years.  The age of his average client is about 70 and many of them hobble in on canes.  Being in my 40s I'm usually the baby in the room when I walk in and sit down.  I remember the first time I walked in.  The lively old guy conversation that was happening suddenly screeched to a halt. 

New guy......youuuuung guy.  Shhhhh.  Clip clip clip. 

Slowly a few words began to be muttered again but it was now quite reserved as there was a rookie in the shop.  A few haircuts later Rich and I had hit it off fine....and I learned the ropes of the place so I felt more comfortable joining in.  Now, years later I have been welcomed into the old dog fold and can speak so long as I always let them get in the last word.  But whenever a rookie or god forbid a woman pokes her head into this sacred male space....there is always a slight disturbance in the force.  In the decade I've been going there I've never once seen a woman in the chair.  No rules against it....they just know it's an old guy club and they respect the turf.   I once asked Rich if he cuts women's hair.  He said sure, I would.....but they don't ask much. 

The walls are covered in old sports photos and photos from the clients that go back decades.  I wonder if I"ll ever be old enough to be on the wall.  There are handyman ads pinned to the bulletin board if you need a stump removed, a lawn mowed, or a shower door installed, one of Rich's customers has your back.  Just pluck off one of the pieces of paper with a phone number and call.  The old old radio with a crooked antenna plays 60s rock.  The conversations dart from rants about taxes and politicians to stories about Vietnam and WW2, to lawn care, prostate problems, and dirty jokes.  I've heard some really funny jokes.  I've heard a lot of life wisdom and a fair amount of honest discussion about the hell of getting old and watching friends die.  Sometimes old time crabbiness kicks in.  Today a young guy (40s) poked his head in and saw the long wait, so he decided to come back later.  But for a few seconds he held the door open as he said "hey Rich, how was vacation? have a good time?"....a few seconds of chatter between them.  Suddenly the old timer next to me yells out...."Come in and shut the goddamn door, it's cold out!"   At the barber you rarely need to feign politeness.  Just be direct...works every time. 

Rich the barber is a maestro in the art of getting along.  Unlike my Dad's old barber who was a right wing fanatic and would tell you to piss off if you didn't like his frequent open air diatribes, my barber Rich is a gentleman who directs conversational traffic.  He defuses the arguments and draws out points from those who know what they want to say but aren't quite sure how to get it across.  He's heard it all.  He sometimes finishes sentences for people.  He has no website or Facebook page.  He doesn't need to advertise and his shop is always full.  People will find you when you offer a good haircut for $9, or $8 for seniors.  He shaves you frighteningly close with a straight razor blade.  The old timers usually give him $10, the guys my age usually give him $15.  The old timers find the $6 tip to be outrageous.  Rich just laughs about it.  I have had my hair cut more than once and forgot that he only takes cash.  I've offered to go find a cash machine and come back.  He says no no no....just pay me next time. 

Rich will take his free time to bring his tools to long time customers who are nursing-home bound and can no longer come in.  He has agreed to do the hair for a few stiffs whose widows requested his help.  He can tell you where to eat, give you directions anywhere, and entertain you on any topic you choose to bring up.  I'm happy I've been able to have the experience of an old time mens barber shop they way many of them used to be way back.  Stepping in there is like a little club that is very different from everywhere else in the community.  It's like stepping back in time sometimes.  It's refreshing to find people talking rather than staring at smart phones, yet its very different from a bar because it's not just a bunch of drunks slurring stupid talk.  I ask him nervously if he has any plans to retire because I dread finding a new barber.  He says no.  He's tried to cut down to just Mon-Friday before, but the guys who like Saturday morning give him too much grief.  He suspects he'll be cutting until they carry him out on a stretcher.  I hope so.  How it should be. 

Do any of you have an eccentric barber?  A good barbershop story? 

This is not Rich's shop but the walls in this photo give you an idea what its like




Edited by Finnforest - March 14 2014 at 21:31