The People Speak Their Mind

What a great day to pass on breakfast in the RV and head into town and sample some of the hometown cooking of Selma and commiserate with the locals. I pulled the truck into an empty slot directly across from the old railroad depot just as the clock pinged 8:00am. Rounding the corner in search of satisfying these impatient taste buds I spotted a little place that took me back to my Little League Days, when Johnny the barber used to trim my crew cut about every two weeks. There is was……THE PEOPLE’S BARBER SHOP. As I pushed open the creaky door I felt much like Alice, stepping through the looking glass. Many shades of my past began firing nuerons that was almost surreal.
Three swivel chairs of off red leather were the focal point of the room, accented with the mirrored walls that not only enhanced the size of the room but allowed the patrons with a swift turn of the chair to see how good they looked. And then I spotted it, a cylindrical canister, filled with the royal blue liquid that contained the combs to be disinfected prior to use. I was nine again.
Steve Edwards was master of this domain. Steve has been cutting hair here for the past five years, although the People’s Barber Shop has been here quite a long time. Steve was a personable fellow and chatted away while he cut David Johnston, a media coordinator at the local school. While I snapped photos Steve kept trimming all the while that he and David shared thoughts on everything from the weather to the economy, while sniplets of hair fell onto the apron and continued to slide down to the floor to accompany the previous patron’s sheddings. It was still only minutes past 8 a.m. but there were three other patrons already awaiting their turn. I needed a trim and shared with Steve that I would be back at a later time to share some sartorial wisdom with him and put myself back in time some five decades.