![]() In the twenty or so years that I was his customer, I never saw him one time outside of his shop. It’s not like Fred and I were great friends. ![]() ![]() Twice I numbly return to my car, then walk back to the “Rest in Peace” sign, as I labor to take these words in - this dark shadow suddenly cast upon what was minutes before a sunny summer morning.ĭear, dear Fred. I’m gliding along, getting things done, getting life done, about to cross “haircut” off of my “to do” list, and now this knock up the side of the head. Like a thief in the night, he was here in this world and now he’s gone. I’m an incorrigible English teacher.) No matter how you say it, the big change happened to Fred since the last time I stood at this door. Fred went to that country from within whose boundaries no traveler returns, to paraphrase Prince Hamlet. I cautiously approach to read the sign above the slightly wilting blossoms: “Rest in Peace, Fred, the Barber.” And beside the door sits a big urn of flowers. When I pull up into a metered parking space beside his shop, I notice his barber pole isn’t turning. He always laughs, no matter how many times he’s heard it.Īlways laughed, I’ll have to say henceforth. Advice: $7:00.” I generally tell him to go ahead and skip the advice for today. He has a sign on his mirror: “Haircuts: Free. “For an up and coming young man to make a living here, he would have to charge five times what I charge, and who’s going to pay it?”įred charges seven dollars a haircut. How much would it cost nowadays to buy this building, which he has owned and barbered in for fifty years? Chairs aren’t cheap either, he points out. His is one of the two longstanding barber shops left in Cumberland, Maryland, and when he and this one other guy go, this kind of shop will be a thing of the past in this town. “I’d hate to be a young guy starting out today,” he often says. That’s one of Fred’s and my talking points: how many people are living paycheck to paycheck, and each month falling a little bit more behind. Indeed, it’s a hard go for everybody not in the top ten percent nowadays. Most welfare recipients are pretty much penniless by then. Long ago I figured out that if I show up at the end of the month, before the welfare checks are issued, I cut the waiting time in half. Seems like I’m always a couple of chores behind. I always enjoy my time in the chair with Fred, but waiting my turn is something I don’t enjoy. By 8:00 his waiting room is already overflowing, and who wants to spend two hours flipping through old hunting and fishing magazines. I get up early Saturday and am at Fred’s by 7:00 when he opens.
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