Long Overdue Cut for the Big Presentatio by Shannon Meredith (recovered)

---

Long Overdue Cut for the Big Presentation

By Mr. Shannon Meredith

Rob was a junior engineer at the company. He was going to school to be an engineer and had found this job working for a manufacturing company in a rural community. Rob is 22 years old, 5’ 10” tall and has an athletic build. He has dark hair, combed forward on top, and the sides and back are cut in the salon fashion. You know the look, the sides are never shorter than 3/4”, and the back is blocked fairly high up on his neck. (because of this he usually has quite a bit of thick neck hair growing below the block about 1 week after his every 6 week cut at the salon in the city) Rob has been working long hours as of late. Therefore he does not get home in time to get to the salon for his usual cut before it has closed, as he lives about 50 miles from the plant. After 8 weeks, his long sideburns are shaggy, and his colllar and nape are almost more than he can stand. He must find a place to get a cut here in the small town, right after he leaves work, and he must do it that very day. The reason for the rush is that he has a big presentation to put on in front of the President of the company the next day.
The President had attended military school, and had been in the military when he was younger, before assuming the role of President when his father could not longer run the company, so Rob knew he had better not go into the meeting looking this Shaggy. He decided to ask a coworker, Matt, who was only a little older than him, where to go in this town to get a “decent haircut”. Matt told him to go to Mr. Wilson’s shop downtown, he was open each day until 6:30pm, and that would allow Rob time to get there, after he got out of work at 6 pm. The only other shop in town closed at 5pm, and there would be no way for him to get there by that time. So the decision was made for him, Wilson’s was the ONLY choice, and he would be there that very evening.

When he arrived at the shop, there were two barbers cutting a couple of college students hair, and one more guy waiting his turn. The two barbers were a father and son team. The father was about 60 years old, and the son was about 30. Rob had hoped he would get the son, as he was afraid that the old man might “scalp” him too short. He waited patiently for the two cuts to be finished. The old man was giving the young man a very short flattop. This made him want the younger barber even more. He was giving a normal haircut to a guy in his mid 30’s, not too short, as the lad was going to be in a wedding, and didn’t want to have a really “fresh” looking cut 2 days from now. The young man with the flattop was finished. He paid and left. Fortunately there was one more man left in line and he got in the older barbers chair. Rob was in luck, he would have the younger barber. The “wedding guy” paid and left.

Now it was Rob’s turn, his heart raced a little bit, in both anticipation, and worry over what might happen with a new person cutting his dark locks of hair. But he had no choice at this point and got in the chair. The barber introduced himself as Chuck, and put a paper around Rob’s neck, and wrapped a white cape around him. Chuck started running a black comb through Rob’s locks and asked him what kind of cut he wanted to have today. Rob replied that he just wanted a “regular haircut, short on the sides and back, and combed forward on top”.

Chuck then asked him how long it had been since his last cut, as Rob was a new customer. Rob, not knowing why he was being asked this told Chuck that it had been over 8 weeks since his last cut. Little did rob know that the reason he had been asked this was so Chuck knew approximately how much his hair had grown since the last cut, and used this as a gauge on how much to cut off. Since Rob’s shaggy blocked cut had grown out so much, and his neck hair had grown so much, Chuck asked him if he wanted the back “blocked or tapered”? Rob, having never been asked this question, asked what the difference was. Chuck explained that a blocked back would be squared off, and then his neck shaved. He then explained that a taper would gradually go from nothing, shaved, up the back, being blended into the top.

Chuck felt Rob’s neck, and offered that since he had so much hair growing on his neck, maybe it would be better if they tapered, and faded the sides and back. This would give a cleaner, more kept look, longer than the blocked style. Rob had noticed that since his 23rd birthday, he had started getting more hair on his arms, chest, and legs, so he figured that this neck hair tapering idea might be a good one. So he agreed, a “faded tapercut” it would be. Chuck went into the back to use the restroom, and Rob overheard the other barber (Chucks father) telling the guy in his chair that he was glad his son had left the army to come home and help out at the barber shop. He went on to tell that Chuck had cut hair for 3 years while in the service. This really concered Rob, after hearing this, as he didn’t want to be “bald”. Too late to leave, Chuck returned from the restroom, and before Rob could even express his concern to Chuck that he didn’t want to lose virtually all of his hair, he heard Chuck switch on a set of clippers. They were really loud, it sounded like a set of hedge trimmers, not the clippers like were used on him at the salon that made a buzzing sound.

Chuck then did something that Rob didn’t understand. He took off the blades on the clippers, with then running, and reached for another metal blade. He told Rob to relax, that he needed a shorter set of blades to clean up all the shaggy stuff down low on Rob’s neck. Rob relaxed a little bit, as chuck started way down low, below his collar moving the clippers up into Rob’s thick mange. Rob assumed he was only going to clean up his neck, much like they did at the salon, “After” the cut was finished. His assumption was quickly proved wrong, as Chuck continued running the clippers right up the back of his head, right through where his “block” had been, eight weeks before. Too late now, he thought, you can’t glue the hair back on. Chuck continued shearing the brown locks right up almost to the crown. He told Rob to relax, that he wasn’t shaving him bald, that he was using a “number 1 blade”. Rob did not know what a number one was, but relaxed a little when he learned they were not cutting his hair as short as the ones used on him at the salon to clean up his neck after a cut. Chuck continued going over the back, and then moved to Rob’s left sideburn. He moved the clippers right up through his thick sideburn, and all the way up his temple, just as high as he had gone in back. Around his ears and up the crown, the clippers mowed on. Over to the right side, the same thing. The clippers made quick work mowing through the sideburns, that only a couple of years ago, Rob could not grow. Finally the loud clippers were silenced. Rob breathed a sigh of relief. Chuck told him to relax, once again. He would have him “cleaned up” in no time.

Chuck asked Rob how short to go on top, he suggested a “number 3”. Rob quickly agreed, as that sounded alot longer in comparison to the number 1 used to cut the sides and back. And, afterall, he had been told to relax, that a number one was not clear down to the skin. A number three it was. Chuck started the Large silver cased clippers up again, and attached a number 3 blade and placed them at the front of Rob’s forehead. He plunged them quickly into Rob’s 3 inch long hair that had grown for so many weeks. He moved them all over the top of Rob’s head until he was satisfied that all of the top was cut to the same length. Rob, however, didn’t know what length this really was. Chuck stopped the clippers once again, and said that this looked really good on him, and he thought Rob was going to like the way it looked.

Rob was really unsure at this point how it looked, as he was turned away from the large mirror. Rob though it “might” look okay, after all, he still had his sideburns running down to his lower earlobe, even if they were clipped quite short to his head. Next Chuck grabbed another set of clippers. This time when he turned them on, they made a “buzzing” sound more like the ones used at the salon, but yet a little louder, and deeper toned. Soon, Chuck pushed Rob’s head down until his chin was on his chest. Chuck told Rob to hold still while he “faded” the lower part of his neck into the longer hair on top of his head. Rob obliged, and soon these clippers where running part way up the back of his head.

They made quite a buzzing sound as they moved up the back of his head. Chuck ran them firmly against the skin up to the very top of his ears until he lightened up on the pressure gradually until he got up the the crown. Rob had no idea how short this fade was turning out to be, until he finished with the back, and moved around to the left side once again. He ran this set of clippers right up through Rob’s sideburns and above and around his ear. Rob knew he was in trouble now, just because of how short that felt.

He knew his prized sideburns were now reduced to the same length as his facial hair, which had not been shaved since the day before. But no turning back now. Chuck followed the same procedure with the right side, and when he was finished proudly proclaimed “you look really good without those sideburns!” Chuck then did something Rob had never had done to him before. He pushed his head down again and placed a very hot wet towel on the back of Rob’s head, and let it sit there for a minute. Rob thought he was just washing off the loose hairs, but after the towel was removed, Chuck produced a cup full of warm lather, and brushed this lather into the lower portion of Rob’s nape, up level with his ears, and then around his ears.

Then Chuck proceded to SHAVE this whole area with a straight razor. Rob could not believe what was happening. He was almost in a trance, and said nothing. The gentle scrapping of what remained of his neck hair went all the way up to the top of his ears and was being stripped clean as a babies butt!!

Chuck said that this would have him looking really “clean” longer than just buzzing it down with the clippers. Then after drying all this area off, he layed Rob back in the Chair. Rob thought he was going to maybe rinse to loose hairs out like they did at the salon after he received a cut. He was mistaken. Another hot towel was produced and placed on his face and neck.

Chuck asked him if he had ever had a “barbershop shave” before. Rob said “no”. Once the towels had been removed, another cup of hot lather was brushed firmly into Rob’s masculine beard. Rob was almost in a dream state, as Chuck scrapped away the 2 and a half days of growth from his face and neck. He shaved him clean all the way down to the chesthair that had started to grow up onto his neck.

Chuck took a really little set of clippers and made a straight line across his chest hair, so when he would not have a tie on, he would still look really “neat and tidy”.

When this was finished, and his face and neck were washed, Chuck spun the chair around so Rob could get his first look at a “faded tapercut”. Rob was almost in shock when he first saw the skin around his ears, the top was so short it did not need combing, there was not enough to comb and he liked this. He could not imagine how the back must look, so he asked for a mirror.

There, where loads of thick hair once had been, was white skin, all the way up to the top of his ears. What started out as shock, turned to excitement, as he thought about going into the meeting with the President of the company, sporting a genuine military style cut.

He told Chuck he really liked the cut alot, and asked him how much he owed him. Chuck replied $6.00. With disbelief from having paid $30.00 at the salon, Rob said “What?” Chuck replied “$5.00 for the haircut, and $1.00 for the shave”. With amazement, Rob handed him a $10.00 bill and told him to keep the change. He knew he would be back every 2 weeks for the same cut and shave. He would be getting 3 haircuts for the price of one, including a big tip. He would also not have all that nasty hair growing so long on his neck. He was WELL SATISFIED with the cut. Every other Thursday night Rob went to the Wilson’s Barber Shop. And just like the first time, he always had the “younger barber” cut his hair.

The End

---