Pyat and the $5 haircut

[pyat]

There's a little hair salon near my house, built in the front of a house. It's the sort of place elderly women go for perms. In the window there is a little frame with a hand-lettered sign reading "George The Barber." George, it seems, runs a single chair babrber shop out of the larger hair salon.

I first saw him one cold February morning, around 6 AM, while waiting for a bus. There was a light on in the hair salon, a single lamp, and three men. One, a very elderly barber, the second an even older customer (perhaps 90), getting a buzzcut, and a man in his 60s, who I presume was the customer's son.

Today, while waiting for my car to get an emissions test, I walked in to get my haircut. George is very old indeed, at least 80. He's stooped, and his hands were fluttering gently. He's rather deaf, but kept up a pleasant conversation. His set-up was extremely basic - a normal chair, disposable razors instead of a straight razor, and kleenex instead of towels. Still, he gave me a very precise and neat haircut, and at the end, I was surprised to learn he charges only $5.

Nice and sunny day out, today. That is all!

Comments

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

Today is a market day at the office! :D Sadly, prices have gone up. >_

[girlydoll.livejournal.com]

Well then!! Connor LOVES getting his hair cut, I think I am going to meander down that way and let him try out a barber chair!!

[kisekileia.livejournal.com]

I bet that guy's been charging $5 since the '60s or so.

[leonard-arlotte.livejournal.com]

That's a bargain price for a haircut indeed!

Mind you, I've been doing my own hair since 2000.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

It's just across from the Senior's Home on Main, near our street.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Is that when you started shaving it off?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

:( For everything?

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

Well, IIRC, a veal sandwich and a pop at the market set me back seven-something when I first started working here in spring 2007. It's now just short of ten bucks.

The market was PACKED today. We went after the normal lunch rush and it was still walk-to-walk people.

[leonard-arlotte.livejournal.com]

Yes it is. I bought a set of clippers for $14, and a safety razor with the changable heads. I found that double blade razors tend to clog up with the finer hair from my head, and eventually just started using disposable single-blade razors.