JIM'S CHAIR

     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 Murguia, gentleman barber, resident barber for Convair, San Diego, and later, General Dynamics 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 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 company hierarchy. 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 the Astronautics over a quarter century ago he established a private practice, “Jim’s Chair,”that periodically 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 could get a haircut and a golf lesson for ten bucks. 
     Still barbering well into his tenth decade and still a great listener, I must think to tell him: “Jim, its too bad you are not a writer. Your book would be a best seller.”