I was at the barber shop the other day and I ran into a guy
who... what's that? OK, you're right. I
admit it: I haven't been to a barber shop since I turned 14 and had my last
50-cent haircut. The Vitalis, greased back wet look was on the way out and the blown-dry
"dry look" was in vogue, so with the start of junior high, I
convinced my mother to do what all the cool kids at school were doing and have
my hair not cut by Sam the barber but instead coiffed by a men's hair stylist.
The storefront bay was dimly lit and filled with the scent
of burning incense. Jimi Hendrix's guitar reverberated through the eight-track
system's carefully arranged speakers. Blacklights eerily illuminated posters on
the walls and lava lamps adorned the reception desk and several coffee tables.
Copies of Rolling Stone magazine, Zap Comix, and the Daily Planet (an
underground newspaper the local hippies hawked on street corners for a quarter)
were scattered across the tables, along with a few roach clips. I didn't think
my mother knew what a roach clip was, but I nonchalantly covered them with the
newspaper anyway. Why take a chance of getting barred from such a cool place?
My hairstylist introduced himself as Mister Lucky, or Lucky
for short. I never knew his real name. Not that it mattered. He was a persona,
not a person. That's how he wanted it: a virtuoso coiffeur, larger than life.
He had ego, he had flair, and he had panache.
More importantly, he had talent when it came to cutting hair, so I
traded in the Opie Taylor look for the David Cassidy style. It cost $10 and
even Mister Lucky’s tip was twice the cost of a barber shop haircut, but when I
look back on those days and recall my tie-dyed shirt, bell-bottom slacks, and
Peter Max sneakers, I can thank Mister Lucky that at least he made my hair look
cool.
I found another gray hair today. I keep pulling them out,
but they’re like hydras: for every one I yank, two more sprout elsewhere.
Mister Lucky would know what to do. I guess I’ll just have to accept aging
gracefully. The years go by so quickly as you get older. And now, another has
passed. Happy New Year.
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