Shave and a haircut
HodgePodge by Charlie Hodge
I’ve got barber brain this week and as one of my first editors wisely advised me when pondering (and whining) what to write about – “write what you know”.
Well, I’m not sure I know much about barbers, yet when talking to barbers I’m not so sure they know all that much about themselves either. I digress. I have barbers on my brain.
I’ve spent quadruple hours this past month gathering and sorting through my massive collection of The Hockey News publications which I treasure. I have nearly the complete collection of the magazine from its beginning days. For a hockey nut it’s a joyful bundle of stories and pictures.
I never intended on collecting hockey magazines. I blame it on Bruce and dad – simply guilty by association. I was an absolute hockey nut and dad my mentor. Every second Saturday dad and I would go to my minor hockey game and then go see Bruce at his popular barber shop. Bruce and dad were good friends and as always, the case with a barber and clients there was no shortage of stories to tell or opinions to share. Of course, one of the first discussions was about the hockey game later that night. For some reason Bruce never understood that dad was right. The Leafs were the best team and while Bruce could cheer for Montreal all he wanted he was still wrong.
I only learned years later that part of the reason why the occasional visit got a little heated was that whenever the Habs played the Leafs – the cost of the haircut was on the line. The cut was free if the Leafs won or double if the Leafs and dad lost.
Hockey talk lasted only so long at the shop as there were other customers with adult conversations of their own to share with Bruce and other customers. Kids had to learn to shut up while the adults played.
Poor old Mrs. Carter could only put with Charlie wandering around inside her old Kelowna Tobacco and Gift Shop for so long. As fascinating as her shop right next door to Bruce’s was, Charlie needed to move along.
Dad did not want a street urchin on his hands during his shave and haircut. Besides … yelling at your kid while a barber zips around your face with a razor is not a healthy plan. Bruce found the magic bullet.
“Charlie, do you like hockey,” Bruce opened, knowing the answer. “How about every Saturday we can all visit for a few minutes. Then you can wander over and visit Mrs. Carter. When you are finished entertaining Mrs. Carter you come back here and see us. I can then give you a recent copy of the Hockey News which you can take out to the bench just outside the shop and read it until your dad is done. You can then keep it and take it home.”
Barber Bruce’s eyebrows nearly blew off of his head with how thrilled I was by his suggestion. Suffice to say from that Saturday forward for about two years I followed the routine.
Life changes and things move along, but luckily for me Bruce knew what he had started and when he announced he was closing his business he compiled his years of hockey news and gave them all to me. That was back around 1971 or 72. Since then I have collected them almost weekly on my own or bought a subscription.
In hindsight Bruce’s kindness (or agile thinking) became a priceless assistant to me. Many years later I wrote two hockey books, Golly Gee, It’s Me – the Howie Meeker story and Stop It There, Back it Up – A fifty year look at the NHL. Those Hockey News were the vital documented research I needed and counted on in writing both works.
I have no idea whatever happened to Bruce and have no way to contact him and say thanks. Hopefully he somehow knows.
I have always found barbers to be interesting characters.
Who grows up dreaming of being a barber? No one grows up being afraid of going to a barber like we do a dentist.
Colleen of Hair by Colleen has been attempting to keep me visually acceptable for several years. I had multiple face surgeries with oral and plastic surgeons to basically rebuild my lower face. I have limited feeling in my face so I get Colleen to shave.
Colleen is an amazingly talented, unique, compassionate person who cares about her family, pets and her many clients. She shares her 1525 Gordon Drive business with another hair expert, Dennis. A barber!
I’m not sure what it is about the job but Dennis has all the flair for the dramatic that one expects from barbers. He is almost always happy and singing or dancing about on his side of the hair facility. Either that or comatose on a chair with a magazine over his face. I am not sure if the latter is a pose he assumes when a client arrives – either way it’s part of the show.
Dennis is popular with his regular crowd of customers, like Colleen.
The writer in me always has the ‘why’ factor on the brain. With barbers the question in my mind is why did you pick it for a career.
Dennis said, “I wanted to do make up for dead people, but when I finally went to a morgue it freaked me out so I went for barber. It was a cheap and easy course.”
Typical barber – no idea whether he is pulling my leg or not.
Go ahead, check him out yourself.
(He never gave me any hockey magazines though).
