Despite appearances, I would actually go to my barber fairly frequently. My inability to spend money with any kind of free abandon makes me tentative to book dentist or doctor appointments. The fair prices that I have worked out with my barber (without discussing it!) are based on whether I am working or not. This gives an early insight into the kind of barbershop this man runs. The next insight comes from the standard by which any barbershop can be judged.
I generally look forward to our haircut chat. This is usually primed by a quick perusal of the newspapers lying around the shop. It is pretty much the only opportunity I get to read the papers that are inclined to use red ink in their title headlines. Our usual chat moves from here to sporting issues, the weather, the state of the country and other general areas. Even if you consider these areas 'mundane', the level of discourse is always very high. The man is highly intelligent and experienced and leaves me chasing him through a myriad of debates.
We even had a frank and illuminating discussion on death this time around. It was a fairly abrupt change of conversation and yet it was not out of place in the barbershop. We did not say a huge amount on the subject, despite the fact that we were actually discussing it for a large amount of time. We came to the conclusion that there really is not anything that can be said to encompass death and so we did not feel the need to bandy words about. It was appropriate and enthralling.
He also did an excellent job on my hair throughout it all: the mark of a truly great barber!
-The English Student
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