Barber Shop
If you had just moved to Madison; or Seymour, or Bedford, or any town about our size; and you wanted to find out about local politics, likes and dislikes, the economy, who the leading citizens are (or THINK they are), where would you go? City council meetings? Library? Vending machine to buy a local newspaper? Or, just maybe, a local barber shop?
Barber Shop
If you said “the barber shop” you win the sixty-four dollar prize. Now, I’m talking mainly to men here; some of the things I’m going to say probably apply to beauty shops, too, but barber shops are the ones I’m familiar with.
Something very democratic (small “d”) about a barber shop. All the guys sit in chairs ranged around the walls, wait their turn, and chat. Well, most of them do. If you see a guy come in only when he actually needs a haircut, then sit behind a raised newspaper or magazine, you can bet he’s not much interested in conversation. Not with THESE guys, anyway.
What usually comes up? Well, politics, a lot; especially at times like now, when the economy is shaky and people are dissatisfied with a lot of things. Religion? Well, no, not very often. Women? Much less than many women might think — unless an attractive one happens to walk by the big front windows, that is. Then heads turn and comments you might not want your mother to hear are made. Marital problems? Guys don’t want to hear that from other guys. The economy gets discussed a lot. Nationally, of course, but also locally. Local politicians are skewered more often than praised, as are certain other groups. Want to know which groups? Go to your friendly neighborhood barber shop and listen.
There’s a sort of set of unwritten rules in most barber shops. Language often gets pretty raw — unless a woman comes in with her little boy for a haircut. Then the language is modified down to an occasional “damn” or “hell.” There is less modification if it’s a father who brings the little boy in — unless his little daughter is also with them.
Most of the talking in a barber shop is done by guys who are old enough to have retired. Younger guys, on the whole, tend to sit and listen. I guess you could call that the “learning process.” It’s what I did when I was growing up; I always felt that putting my two cents worth into the conversation at the barber shop would have been resented, or ignored, by the older guys in there.
Of course, the barber himself — or herself, as is increasingly the case nowadays — sets the tone for the conversation. Usually, the barber is fair game for teasing from the regulars — good-natured teasing, because if they didn’t like the barber they wouldn’t hang out in his shop. A good barber is not only good at cutting hair, but also at thrusting and parrying with the guys, without making anyone mad.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot more about life, about how things work, about people, about politics, about just about everything, in various barber shops, than I ever learned in a classroom, or the U.S. Army, or a newspaper newsroom. As a matter of fact, I picked up many news tips, ideas for feature stories, for editorials, and other material, for the newspaper when I was working there, and paid daily visits to a local barber shop. But my former boss never could see it that way. To her, I was simply wasting “her” time.
So there you have it: Old Corporal’s take on the American barber shop. Got any suggestions about a column on some other uniquely small-town, neighborhood institution? Drop me a suggestion, and I’ll look into it.
——
Old Corporal <corporalko@yahoo.com>
Tonsorially speaking …, – Sunday, June 08, 2008 at 18:49:46 (EDT)
