I suppose most every household has had a pair of clippers around at one time or another. Growing up I distinctly remember my dad perching me on a tall stool (reserved only for this activity), pinning a sheet around my neck, and hearing the hum of the clippers once he flicked the switch. I knew when these things took place, I was only twelve minutes away from a DIY hairdo. Of course, we never called them DIY because that term did not exist back then.
Fast forward to a dozen years ago, when I invested in the first barber kit in order to cut the hair of my son. The style was very easy back then…a complete buzz. The only decision you needed to make was the number on the guard placed over the clippers. “Do you want a number 2 or a number 4?” That was it. No scissors, no styling, just an old school haircut. Around the age that a young man cared less about his appearance and his looks, that was the sweet spot. That’s when I could shine and opened Brian’s Barbery. It was a soft open, but soon my son’s friends were waiting in line for their chance at a haircut. I became quite popular in our little circle as the stylist of choice.
Fast forward again to this week. I am pleased to announce that due to certain circumstances beyond our control, Brian’s Barbery is open once again. In fact, we just served our first two customers, myself and my 20-year-old son.
I have always been the one cutting others’ hair and never before attempted the self-haircut, but trying times call for desperate measures. Because I am not double jointed and a mirror will only get you so far, I pressed my son into service by handing the craft down to him. It was a proud moment. He masterfully shaved the back of my head and I presume cleaned up the neck a bit, too. I will never see it though, so I suppose it doesn’t matter much.
Somewhere in your late teens early 20’s you start to really care about your appearance; hair style included. You venture out past the buzz cut your parents gave you and move on to more sophisticated styles. I have moved well past that point and back to that youthful notion young men have about lack of concern over their appearance. I am just the older age version of that same person. The way I figure it, I am happily married to the same person for over 31 years, so I am pretty safe in that respect, and I am not interested in trying to be attractive to anyone else, so I may as well go for the low maintenance hairdo that you see in the picture above. A bar of soap, some water and a towel are all I need.
Although Brian’s Barbery is not open to the public, and I plan on keeping my day job, I can’t tell you how liberated I feel with my fresh look. Hopefully by the next time you see me it will have grown out.
RSS Feed