Dec. 18, 2001 - 19:52 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Is That Me ?

Daughter due here in a few days, so by the firm instructions from Heather I made an appointment with the barber. In the course of making the appointment he told me, "We have moved downstairs to the basement of the hotel." I asked him if he could be found easily and was assured it was a snap.

When Heather was dropping me off, there was room for her to pull in let me off and back out. Shades of Ground Zero, without the gaping hole and smoke. It seems as if the hotel is getting a face lift and most of the face and beaucoup machinery filled the parking area. Me and my little bottle made our way through the litter battle. curving and dodging around various items of debris and machinery.

I seemed to be in a surreal urban ant pile with the worker ants all wearing hard hats, and scurrying around on incomprehensible tasks. Through the labyrinth went I and reached my destination, the Lobby entrance. Lobby had changed drastically with construction taking place there. I found the elevator and when it reached my floor I hopped in and pressed L, thought the eleveator moved quietly and the door opened to let more people in, over their shoulders I spotted the Lobby. Dumkopf -- L means lobby. There were other buttons P1, P2, P3 so I rode down to P2 with the folks who just got on. That wasn't the place so I tried P1 and there were the errant barbers and their manicurist.

I have followed this one barber from place to place since somewhere in 1963. My Dad was going to this young guy who he said, gave a real nice haircut. That was 38 years ago and this man still gives a beauty of a haircut.

Along the way I would take my Dad down for a haircut when he was in his wheel chair. After Dad died the barber moved to the hotel he is in now. I will be his customer as long as I can reach him. He feels like a member of the family, the guy who would cut my hair when I flopped in his chair in an alcoholic haze without ever a word said.

When I am there I see the faces of customers who are familiar to me. He has a good many customers who have done as I have and followed him from place to place.

There is a messed up old adage, "When you find a good doctor, mechanic, TV repairman or barber -- stay with him 'cause you'll never find another as good." We were with our HMO doctor for over twenty years until he started floating - no list of patients under his care. I think he is semi-retired maybe ? I see him now and then when he is working out our clinic. he subbed for my doctor when she was doing some schooling for a few months.

So, for quite awhile in the barber shop the diligent snip, snip of the scissors and the zzzz, zzzz of the clipper surrounded me, my head pushed gently to one side or another as the project went on. Finally after a short shot of the blower the barber whipped off my apron and said, "Did the best I could with what I had to work with." I paid him and pushed my way through the drifts of white hair on the floor, I took a look in the mirror and said, "Is That Me ?" . . . . . . .

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