The Lessons Life Teaches, A Collection of Short Stories.

The Barber

In the '70s I majored in geology at Arizona State University. It seems when you are young and are in college you are burning with utopian, grandiose, liberal ideas and politics. Also, the longer you are in college, the more self-assured you become and you begin to think you know more about the world than you really do. In retrospect, at least speaking for myself, I was terribly naïve. What I didn't know about and have come to learn is the day in day out struggle to get by in life.

Once in my senior year my hair was getting pretty shaggy, so I went for a haircut. For some reason, which I unable to recall, I got my hair cut at a barbershop I had not been to before. When I got there, there was only one barber and I was the only customer. I recall him telling me he learned to cut hair when he was in the military. When he got out, he worked for other people as a barber until he was able to afford his own shop. Then the conversation turned to politics and the Vietnam war. I recall expounding to great length with all my liberal views. He was quiet and listened politely and did not debate or try to challenge me as he cut my hair. In retrospect, I suspect he was not impressed with my liberal thoughts and had worked hard and probably struggled at times for what he had achieved with his own hard work.

When I got home and checked out my haircut in the bathroom mirror. I was dismayed to see that the barber had cut a perfect circle, about the size of a small peanut butter jar lid, in the back of my hair. At first, I was upset, but then the epiphany struck. I realized this conservative, savvy, middle aged businessman must have thought that me and my views were a big zero. First, I made a note to self, to never talk politics with a barber again. Which I have maintained now in my mid-60s. Second, it made me comprehend that I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was. It was a well-earned reality check. I went to my own barber the next day and got my hair fixed and admittedly never went to the other barber again. But, without saying a single word, this gentleman taught me some valuable lessons that I have retained to this day.

Although I have not abandoned all my early ideals, through time they have been tempered by 40 some years of making a living, struggling to pay bills, getting married, having children, having our own business, and having people depend on you. I owe this barber, as well as many other people, for the life's lessons they have helped me learn. Sometimes the hard way.