Barber Shop #1

I've been thinking about doing a photographic study of certain barber shops. When I was a kid, all the barber shops had colorful poles as identifiers. Sometimes they would even spin. So the shops I feature will have a pole outside the door. Check this out for a bit of barber pole history.

Where I lived most of the barbers were Italian-Americans, and always characters, but most of the privately owned shops have made way for chain stores like "Quick Cuts", "Super Cuts", and the like. They usually have young woman doing the work, and the cost is nominal. Each time one goes to the shop there is a different person who does your hair, usually one with minimal experience. Some are good, many are not. They are not paid very well. So the second and last rule for my study is that they can't be a chain, or franchise.

This is Ray's. I had a haircut here - once! It wasn't a bad cut, but Ray has issues. His favorite religious radio station pumps out music, sermons, and political messages. Ray reinforces what's said, just in case the razor or scissors were too noisy, and you missed something. He finishes his work by giving a head massage.