Thinking the other day about who were the finest people I ever met, I almost missed someone who ranks near the top of the list..... Jim, gentleman barber, resident barber for Convair, San Diego, and later, Astronautics Division, for most of his salaried career. I never met his wife, but she must be someone special too as together the couple raised four children who returned a level of pride most parents hope for.
It was a banner day when one got promoted to a perk level where you were privileged to visit the company barber. And Jim was special because you knew intuitively that he was a sympathetic listener. You could unload on him and know that it would go no further. It didn’t matter if you were thrice married, divorced, had something going on the side, a raving conservative, a starry eyed liberal or someone being undermined in the various maneuverings that are always in play in the heirarchy. Jim listened and commented just enough, always sympathetically. So you walked away with a haircut good enough for a wedding and feeling as good as if you had visited the local shrink and plunked down fifty bucks for an hour on the couch.
When Jim retired from Astronautics a quarter century ago he established a private practice, “Jim’s Chair,” that got bumped from location to location in the Kearny Mesa area. His clientele from Astronautics and Convair followed him, so he didn’t have to look for customers. Only as a special favor would he take on someone recommended to him. Jim is an avid golfer, and Jim’s Chair got to be known as the only place in town where you can get a haircut and a golf lesson for ten bucks. Still barbering at ninety years and still a great listener, I must think to tell him: “Jim, it’s too bad you are not a writer. Your book would be a best seller.”
No comments:
Post a Comment