My New Barber and the Tom Brady Stare
"Being a barber is about taking care of the people."
- Anthony Hamilton
As a kid I used to get my haircut really short in the summertime. I would go to the barbershop with my dad when he would get his hair cuit. His barber's name was Mimi, and I would always have John cut my hair. I'm sure these people had last names, but I'm not sure what they are. Anyway, I went over to my grandparent's house after a haircut one time, and my grandpa said, "That's a good looking butch haircut you got there, son." In my grandfather's day and age, "butch" was either a man's first name, or a haircut. It wasn't a term used to describe a really tough, masculine looking woman.
Fast forward 20 years. My roommate and I are goofing around, talking about butch haircuts. As it turns out, his step-dad, Jay, went to barber school before he went to Vietnam. So this weekend, I passed on hanging out with Jerome and got a butch haircut from Jay on his back patio.
Much like Jerome, Jay has lived a full, wild life. He grew up in Colorado on a farm in Colorado, was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, worked for Charles Keating, and is currently enjoying the twilight of his professional career. He's a salt of the earth guy. The man wouldn't accept any monetary compensation for his services, but he did take me up on an offer of six pack of beer. So after my butch haircut was complete, we sat out on his patio, drank a few beers, and just shot the breeze. It was great.
A few weeks ago I watched the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants. I started watching the game just before half time. At one point the camera focused in on Tom Brady as he was on the sidelines. He had this look in his eye. It's hard to articulate what exactly that look was all about, but it boils down to one word in my mind: focus. He didn't care what the scoreboard said, he knew that he and his team were going to win the game.
When I got back to work a few days later, I put up a sticky note by my computer that said, "Tom Brady." It's that sort of focus that really makes a person truly great at whatever they do.
- Anthony Hamilton
As a kid I used to get my haircut really short in the summertime. I would go to the barbershop with my dad when he would get his hair cuit. His barber's name was Mimi, and I would always have John cut my hair. I'm sure these people had last names, but I'm not sure what they are. Anyway, I went over to my grandparent's house after a haircut one time, and my grandpa said, "That's a good looking butch haircut you got there, son." In my grandfather's day and age, "butch" was either a man's first name, or a haircut. It wasn't a term used to describe a really tough, masculine looking woman.
Fast forward 20 years. My roommate and I are goofing around, talking about butch haircuts. As it turns out, his step-dad, Jay, went to barber school before he went to Vietnam. So this weekend, I passed on hanging out with Jerome and got a butch haircut from Jay on his back patio.
Much like Jerome, Jay has lived a full, wild life. He grew up in Colorado on a farm in Colorado, was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, worked for Charles Keating, and is currently enjoying the twilight of his professional career. He's a salt of the earth guy. The man wouldn't accept any monetary compensation for his services, but he did take me up on an offer of six pack of beer. So after my butch haircut was complete, we sat out on his patio, drank a few beers, and just shot the breeze. It was great.
A few weeks ago I watched the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants. I started watching the game just before half time. At one point the camera focused in on Tom Brady as he was on the sidelines. He had this look in his eye. It's hard to articulate what exactly that look was all about, but it boils down to one word in my mind: focus. He didn't care what the scoreboard said, he knew that he and his team were going to win the game.
When I got back to work a few days later, I put up a sticky note by my computer that said, "Tom Brady." It's that sort of focus that really makes a person truly great at whatever they do.
posted by Zen_Accountant at 6:03 PM
1 Comments:
How do you meet these characters? I think we could spend hours analyzing how you are attracted to, spend time with, and write about these people.
I think I'm a good listener but I just seem to miss these individuals.
But I love them as soon as you describe them.
Tom Brady, huh? I know nothing about sports or the man. Is the rest of his life good?
And, lastly, why no mention of the half marathon?
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