And Back to Gus the Barber.
As you know from an earlier Blog, every 6 weeks or so I am off to see Gus the Barber.
Yesterday was 'Gus the Barber Day'.
Gus was in Rare Form - I mean - he was Meaner Than Ever.
I met Gus coming up the escalator - he was coming up and I was going down - down to his shop that is. Gus was off for his ubiquitous cigarette break. I asked him to please hurry since I would be waiting for his return. Gus sneered and continued on up the rolling stairs.
He was soon back though, which had more to do with Gus' ability to inhale a cigarette faster than any man on Earth than it did him worrying about me waiting.
In the few minutes I did have, I considered sweeping up the loose hair on the floor beneath his Barber Chair but from past experience realized my finer efforts would go unappreciated and even be resented. So I refrained.
What I did do was to go to his newspaper bench and pull out one of the day's rags. I had no sooner gotten comfortable with it when Gus returned - sneer and all.
I jumped up and headed for The Chair - leaving the newspaper behind.
"That your paper"? asked Gus.
"No, it is one of yours", I replied.
"Put it back" he demands.
I went on to tell him that I had planned to do just that - when the cutting was over ....
"Someone will come in and sit on it and ruin it".
'Someone'?
I refrained from saying that over the course of the last year, I had yet to seen 'Anyone' come and go from his shop save for Yours Truly.
I replaced the endangered paper.
The cutting began.
At this point I am thinking do I just go silent - like the man himself - or do I try to provoke conversation.
Ever a sh** disturber, I go for the latter.
I notice some new pictures Gus has posted up on his wall - one being a pix of himself about age 9 when he was living in Italy. "Good looking kid" I exclaim..."whatever happened to those good looks"?
I can be a devil.
Gus Grunts.
On to another picture, in this one a Gus around age 19 is seen cutting All the hair off a client.
I asked him "why would anyone want all their hair cut off"?
Gus finally breaks silence "If he wanted his head cut-off and paid me, I would do it".
Might be frowned upon in some quarters I respond - Gus Grunts.
We go quiet again.
I try one last thing - knowing that he hates - absolutely hates politics, I ask Gus if he got to Jack Layton's Funeral?
If looks could kill...
Okay - I gave up at this point.
On leaving I always give Gus a good tip - usually as much as $8.00 and I did so yesterday.
I thought for a moment of telling Gus that the tip was for his 'Friendly Service' but thought the better of it.
One, I was not sure how he would react - physically that is and Two, for all his faults, Gus is a Proud Individual.
When I got home and told Anne about my latest Gus experience she asked the expected; "why do I not find another Barber"?
Simple - Gus is the Best.
As I see it...
'K.D. Galagher'
