Flat-tastic Summer by Dave W

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Dave and Jeff’s Flat-tastic Adventure

It was early November, 1974 when Jeff and Dave met at Washington Elementary School in Boise, ID. Dave and his family had just moved from a rental home in west Boise to their new, permanent residence in Boise’s north end. Previous to this, in mid-September, Dave and his family had moved from the small northern Idaho town of Pinehurst to Boise. Dave was in the 6th grade and Jeff was in the 5th grade. Although Jeff and Dave were not in the same grade, they did share reading class together and this was how they came to meet one another.



Jeff and Dave instantly became close friends and were thrilled to learn that they only lived two blocks away from one another. Jeff lived on N. 18th St. and Dave lived on N. 17th St. The boys soon discovered that they had a lot in common and for the most part were inseparable after school and on the weekends. Jeff and Dave enjoyed going hiking in the foothills of Boise, playing tennis, basketball, tossing around a nerf football, going bowling and having sleep overs at each other’s house. Jeff and Dave both had aquariums with tropical fish and each would occasionally add new ornamental items to their aquarium in an attempt to out-do the other. Both boys, a few years later, got paper routes, Jeff’s route was on N. 22nd St. and Dave’s was on N. 19th St. There was also one other interest that both boys had in common but would not realize it for another 3 ½ years.



On one Saturday afternoon in the late spring of 1976, Jeff and Dave were at the neighborhood park playing tennis. The boys were pretty even in their tennis skills and most matches came down to the wire. However, on this day, Dave wasn’t himself, he seemed to be preoccupied by something or someone else as Jeff was getting most of the points. Jeff asked, "What’s wrong with you today, Dave?" "It’s almost as if you’re concentrating on something else besides our game." Dave replied, "Yeah, I’m just thinking about other things." "Like what," Jeff asked. "Oh, you know, I’m worried about starting school next fall," Dave replied. Jeff said to Dave, "It’s not a big deal; you’ll be fine, besides you have all summer to worry about that. Now focus on our match, will you?" "Okay," Dave replied. Jeff didn’t really believe that Dave was already thinking about school. School had just let out for summer vacation last week, so it seemed to Jeff that it was way too early to be thinking about going back to school.



On the tennis court next to the one Jeff and Dave were playing on, there were a couple of guys in their mid-late 30’s playing. One of the guys was average looking, with a hairstyle that was popular for the time but the other guy had a flattop that was meticulous and Dave couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of it. The sides and back of his head were clipped as short as possible up to the temple area and then gradually got longer to form the square shape of the flattop with the slightest bevel so as not to appear too boxy. The top was approximately ½ inch long in front; it was as flat on top as could be with a landing strip that appeared to be just as short as the sides and back of the head. Dave could also tell that this guy used the perfect amount of butch wax on his flattop to ensure that every hair was standing at attention. Dave had always admired flattop haircuts but had never had the courage to ask for one. As a matter of fact, Dave had never had his hair cut at a barbershop; his dad had always cut his hair. These home haircuts occurred every 6-8 weeks and although Dave pretended that he despised getting a haircut, he actually enjoyed getting one. Dave wanted badly to walk over to this guy and compliment his haircut but thought that Jeff would think that was weird and somehow hold it against Dave as a reason not to hang out together anymore, so Dave kept his thoughts to himself.



Seeing the guy with the awesome flattop brought back memories to Dave from the time when they lived in Pinehurst. Dave’s Uncle Dale wore a flattop and every time that Dave was over at his house, his uncle would try to persuade Dave into letting him cut his hair into a flattop. Dave always declined his uncle’s offer but had at least at one time seriously considered accepting. Then there was one day when Dave was strolling by the only barbershop in Pinehurst and sitting in the chair of the barbershop was Dave’s neighbor, Bob Finlay. Bob wore a flattop haircut as well and was getting his bi-weekly tune up. Bob saw Dave and motioned for him to come into the shop. Dave just smiled, shook his head and proceeded to walk past the shop. Dave often wondered what would have happened had he gone into the shop. These were pleasant memories that Dave cherished, however, he had never shared them with anyone. Dave, not wanting be different or be teased by the other kids wore his hair just like all of the other boys, straight over the forehead with no part. Seeing a boy with a well groomed, side parted haircut with pomade applied were few and far between. And seeing a boy with a flattop haircut was darn near extinct. Oh well, Dave thought, one of these days I’ll have the courage to get a flattop haircut. Although he didn’t know when, he knew for sure that one day it would happen.



After Jeff and Dave were finished playing tennis, they went back to Jeff’s house and were messing around in Jeff’s room. Dave saw one of Jeff’s school pictures that was probably from two or three years earlier. Jeff’s hair was tapered short with a side part and had hair oil or pomade in it. Dave said to Jeff, "I like this haircut on you Jeff, where did you get it cut?" Jeff replied, "At that barbershop on 16th St. across from Albertson’s and Grand Central." Dave then asked, "How did the barber apply the grease to your hair?" Jeff said, "He sprayed it on." Dave then asked, "Why don’t you wear your hair like this anymore?" Jeff, looking annoyed with all of the questions about his hair, fired back, "Probably for the same reason that you don’t wear your hair like that." Dave was embarrassed with himself for asking Jeff so many questions about his hair and now had a strange feeling that Jeff thought of him as some kind of nut. Jeff, however, had shrugged it off and there were no hard feelings between the two friends.



Jeff and Dave continued to play tennis on most Saturdays at the same neighborhood park. Dave always made it a point to get to the park around the same time as his first sighting of the flat-topped fellow, in hopes that he would be there. On occasion, Dave would not be disappointed and would get to see the guy with the fabulous flattop on the tennis court. On one such occasion, Jeff and Dave were once again playing on the tennis court next to the flat-topped guy, however, this time Jeff was facing him. Dave did happen to notice that Jeff was glancing at him quite a bit. Dave thought to himself, could Jeff be infatuated with this guy’s haircut as much as I am or is he just looking at him because he thinks that it’s strange that anyone would want their haircut like this? Dave came to the conclusion that it was probably the latter and that Jeff was just glancing at him in disbelief.



A couple years had passed, Jeff and Dave continued to play tennis, when they were able to, on Saturdays and Dave was pleased that every once in a while, he’d get to see the flattop fellow on the tennis court. With each passing year the chances of seeing a male of any age with a flattop grew slimmer and slimmer. Dave really admired the flat-topped tennis player for going against the grain and sporting the haircut that he obviously loved and felt comfortable with, although hardly anyone else was sporting one. Dave thought to himself that if this trend continued, he would probably never get the flattop haircut that he so desperately desired.

One Friday, in late April of 1978, Jeff and Dave were walking home from school, Dave asked Jeff, "Are you up for tennis tomorrow?" Jeff replied, "No, I can’t, we’re going out of town for the weekend, to McCall and we won’t be back until Sunday afternoon." "Oh, well maybe next Saturday," Dave said. "Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be able to play tennis next Saturday," Jeff replied. This was fine with Dave; he was not really interested in playing tennis as he had made an appointment on Saturday at a barber salon to have his hair permed. Since Dave had gotten a paper route about a year earlier and was making his own money, he had been going to this barber salon to have his hair styled. He had gone from the tapered haircut with bangs that his dad used to give him, to parting his hair in the middle and "feathering" it. So it was a relief that Jeff wouldn’t see him until Monday morning at school. The boys had reached Dave’s house and Dave asked Jeff if he wanted to hang out. Jeff said, "I can’t, I have to go home and pack. We’re leaving as soon as my dad gets home from work." "Okay Jeff, I guess I’ll see you Monday then. Have a good weekend," Dave replied. "Thanks, you too," Jeff said.



Dave arrived at the barber salon with a few minutes to spare before the time of his appointment and did not have to wait long before his stylist, Jack, was washing his hair and asking him how tight of a perm he wanted. Dave was contemplating going super tight and getting an afro, and asked Jack what he thought. "Well Dave," Jack started, "As long as your hair is right now, an afro is going to be pretty big, and of course we can always cut about half of it off so it’s not so big, if you want." "I would suggest going looser, not with an afro, it’ll have more waves to it than curl and you can still part it in the middle and keep the length, I’ll just trim it once we get done with the perm." Dave agreed as it had taken him quite a while to get his hair to this length and didn’t want to lose half of it or look like Ronald McDonald when he walked out of the barber salon. So it was from the wash basin to the stylist chair for the tedious task of Jack rolling all of Dave’s hair in perm rods. After that was complete Jack placed cotton around the outer edges of the perm rods around Dave’s head and now it was time for the stinky perm solution to be applied. Jack also handed Dave a towel and told him that he was probably going to need to wipe any solution that made its way through the cotton. At this point, Dave was wondering what the hell he was thinking? The solution was cold and Dave could feel it on his scalp and it was starting to run down the front, sides and back of his head. After all of solution was applied came the hot clips that clipped over the perm rods. This was a new technique and was called a UniPerm. The weight of each clip on every perm rod on Dave’s head was almost too much for his neck to handle, he was fighting to keep his head from tipping one way or the other. After about 10-15 minutes all the UniPerm clips were removed as well as the cotton and it was back to the wash basin to rinse out the solution. Then it was back to the chair for more cotton around the head and more solution but no UniPerm clips this time, Dave just had to sit there for about 5 minutes. Back to the wash basin for a final rinse then back to the chair to have all of the perm rods removed. Dave’s hair had quite a bit of curl to it and Jack began trimming it. When Jack was done with the trim, he blow dried Dave’s hair with it parted in the middle. The change wasn’t too drastic, Dave’s hair had a lot more volume to it and it was quite wavy. After spending 1 ½ - 2 hours in the barber salon, Dave was finally on his way home. What would his parents, brothers and friends think of his new do?



Dave finally got home and was greeted with a smile from his mother, a glare from his father and laughter from his brothers. His brothers were laughing and pointing at him saying, "Look at the girl with the curls." "We always wanted a sister," one of the brothers joked. His father asked, "What the hell have you done, son?" Dave replied, "A lot of other guys at school, in my grade, are getting their hair permed and I wanted to so I would fit in." "Well I don’t like it," said Dave’s dad "How much did that cost you?" Dave sheepishly replied, "Twenty-five dollars." Dave could almost see the steam coming out of his father’s ears as he was shaking his head in disbelief. "You know, you could have gone to Vince’s Barbershop and gotten a sensible haircut like mine for three dollars, in fact, why don’t you go get in the car and I’ll take you there now," said Dave’s dad. As much as Dave secretly wouldn’t have minded being hauled to the barbershop by his father, he protested by saying, "No dad, please don’t make me go to the barbershop." Dave’s mom cut in, "Chris, settle down, it’s not that bad and at least he didn’t come home with an afro!" "You’ll get used to it, just give it some time." Well at least the part about the afro made Dave feel a bit better since he had contemplated getting one. "Alright, I guess I will get used to it but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it," replied Dave’s dad. "I just can’t understand why these boys would want long hair and I especially don’t understand why any boy or man, for that matter, would want to get a perm. Perms are for girls!" Dave was relieved that his mother was home as she always went shopping on Saturday and it would vary, from week to week, how long her shopping trips would take. Had she not been home, Dave could have been sitting in a real barber’s chair at Vince’s Barbershop getting most of his newly permed hair sheared off, which made Dave fantasize about getting a flattop. Dave’s dad was one of the few males that did not grow his hair out after the Beatle’s invasion. He still had a tapered cut, parted on the side and combed up and back with pomade applied, Dave guessed it was called a business men’s contour.



The weekend was over and Monday morning had come to fast for Dave. He was feeling queasy about the reactions he’d get from his classmates with his new do. Before the first period bell rang, Dave thought that he saw Jeff walking down that hallway quite a ways ahead of him, but something was different about Jeff’s appearance, perhaps it wasn’t Jeff. Dave walked faster until he finally caught up with the person that he thought was Jeff, but wasn’t sure. Just a few feet behind this person, Dave said, "Jeff?" The boy turned around and much too Dave’s surprise, it was Jeff, just with wavier hair, just like Dave’s. Both boys did a double take at one another and started laughing. "I thought you were going out of town for the weekend," Dave said to Jeff. Jeff replied, "I lied and I guess you can see why." "Yes, I do know why," said Dave. "I can’t believe that we both got perms over the weekend and neither of us told the other," Jeff said. "I know," Dave replied back. Just then, the first period bell rang. "Well, I guess I’ll catch you at lunch," Jeff said to Dave. Dave replied back, "Okay, see you then."

The morning seemed to drag by, Dave thought getting the perm would make him look cool and it probably did but Dave never expected all the laughing, staring and negative comments that would accompany it. Dave finally found Jeff in the cafeteria for lunch. "Hey Jeff, how’s it going for you today?" Dave asked. "Oh probably about the same as it’s going for you, lots of laughing and comments, does that sound familiar?" asked Jeff. "To a tee," Dave replied. "Oh well, what’s done is done, they’ll get used to it, eventually," said Jeff. Dave agreed and then asked Jeff, "So how did your family react when they saw you for the first time with your new do?" "Well, my mom is okay with it, my sisters think it’s funny looking and my dad, shall we say, isn’t too happy with me," Jeff replied. "My dad was furious; he was ready to take me to his barber to get a sensible cut like his. Thank God my mom was home or I’d probably look like Richie Cunningham on Happy Days right now," said Dave. Both boys started laughing as they ate lunch together. Their lunch break was the fastest part of their day and it was off to afternoon classes and more heckling. The boys agreed to meet after school to walk home together.



The final bell for the day had rung and Jeff and Dave began their walk home from school. The boys talked about their first perm experience and they agreed that after a week or two, they would be used to their new appearance and so would everyone else. They also agreed that this Monday had been one of the longest in memory and hoped that the rest of the week would go by quickly. With that conversation out of the way, they began planning their weekend. Tennis on Saturday and Dave spending the night at Jeff’s. Dave was hoping that the guy with the flattop was also making plans to play tennis on Saturday, as he hadn’t seen him since last fall before the weather got cold. Thinking of fall and cold weather got Dave to pondering about whether or not the flattop guy grew his hair out for the winter months and then got it cut back to a flattop in the spring? What if he did grow it out and decided not to get it cut back into a flattop? Dave certainly hoped that this was not the case but if it were, there wasn’t much he could do about it.



The rest of the week did go by quicker than Monday and the final bell for the week had rung. The boys met for their walk home and started talking about their big plans for Saturday. "Well Jeff," Dave started, "With the way it looks today, all cloudy and windy, we may get rained out of our tennis match tomorrow." "If that happens, what are we going to do?" Dave asked. "We could go bowling if the weather isn’t cooperating and my mom would probably be able to take us there," Jeff said. "That sounds like fun, we haven’t been bowling for a long time," said Dave. "I’ll bet we both suck," Jeff added and both boys started laughing.

When Dave woke up Saturday morning and looked out of his bedroom window, he was disappointed to see that it was raining. When Dave got up earlier to deliver the morning paper on his paper route, it was cloudy and a bit breezy but it wasn’t raining, which gave Dave hope that Jeff and he would be able to play tennis. It certainly looked as though Jeff and Dave would not be playing tennis today as the forecast called for rain until late in the afternoon. Dave went upstairs as he could smell bacon cooking and knew it wouldn’t be long until breakfast was ready. About 10 minutes later, Dave’s family was sitting around the kitchen table enjoying breakfast consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast with orange juice and milk to wash it down. The conversation was light and included everyone’s plans for the weekend. Dave could sense that his father was looking at his wavy hair in disapproval and when Dave’s eyes met his father’s, his father said, "I’m going to the barbershop this morning, would any of you boys like to go with me?" "I’m paying," he added. As much as Dave wanted to say yes, he declined along with the other three brothers.



After the family had finished their breakfast, Dave helped his mother clean up, as one of his assigned chores for the weekend. His other chores were light and included making his bed and cleaning his room and when that was finished he showered and got ready for the day. By this time it was around 10:00 am and Dave called Jeff to see what time would be best for Dave to come over. Jeff told Dave to come over around noon and bring his pajamas and a change of clothes for the sleep over. Jeff and Dave also discussed their disappointment with the weather and not being able to play tennis today. Jeff told Dave that his mother would be able to drop them off at the bowling alley but she wouldn’t be able to pick them up. Dave told Jeff that was okay even though the bowling alley was a good two mile walk back to Jeff’s house and hopefully the rain would have stopped by the time they were finished.



Dave was home alone watching tv, patiently waiting for noon to arrive. All of Dave’s brothers were out doing their own thing, his mother was doing her weekly shopping and his dad had gone to the barbershop for a haircut. Dave heard the back door open and close and thought that it was probably one of his brothers that had come in but found out a few minutes later that it was his father when he walked into the living room. "What are you watching?" asked Dave’s dad? "Nothing in particular, mostly channel hopping because there’s nothing good on." Dave replied. With that, Dave’s dad began channel hopping as Dave was checking out his dad’s fresh haircut. Although Dave’s dad was in his late 30’s, his hair had already turned gray, his haircut was tapered tight on the sides and back but it wasn’t cut too high before the length gradually got longer. It was parted on the left, heavily greased, the front was combed up and back with a medium height quiff and the longer hair on the sides was also combed back. With no one else around to hear the conversation, Dave said, "Your haircut looks nice dad but it looks like Vince cut it shorter than you usually get it cut." Dave couldn’t believe that had actually come out of his mouth. Dave’s dad replied, "Thank you, yes, it is shorter, I just told Vince to do whatever he wanted and by the way this cut would really look good on you, a lot better than that perm." Dave began to regret complimenting his father’s new haircut and knew where this conversation was going. Dave said to his dad, "You’re probably right but hardly any boy has their hair cut like that anymore and if they did they would be heckled and teased so badly that they wouldn’t want to go to school." Dave’s dad replied, "There’s nothing wrong with boys getting their haircut like this, sometimes you have to be your own person and not care what other people think or say, it’s just hair." He continued, "You never know, you might set a trend by getting your hair cut like this and have every boy at school headed to a barbershop for a cut just like yours." Dave promptly responded, "I doubt that very much dad." With that, the conversation about short hair was over with Dave’s dad looking frustrated. Dave began to wonder if his father was catching on to the fact that Dave did indeed want a short haircut?



Noon finally rolled around and Dave quickly made his way over to Jeff’s trying not to get too wet from the rain. Jeff greeted Dave at the front door and told him to come on in. Once Dave was inside he was greeted by Jeff’s parents and sisters. Jeff’s dad happened to notice that Dave had also gotten his hair permed, similarly to Jeff’s and commented, "What did you do to your hair, Dave?" "Did you two plan this, to look like girls?" Jeff’s mom broke in, "Stop heckling the boys Don, I think their hair looks very nice." She jokingly added, "You’re just jealous because you don’t have the hair to get a perm yourself." Don shot back, "Even if I did have the hair, you’d never catch me sitting in a salon getting it rolled up in curlers." Jeff’s dad and sisters had a good laugh at that comment. Jeff’s parents were very nice people. Jeff’s dad was follicley challenged having male pattern baldness, the top was bald and what was left on the sides and back was clipped short. With the greetings and joking over, Jeff and Dave made their way downstairs to Jeff’s bedroom. Jeff told Dave that they were going to sleep in the family room, on the floor in sleeping bags, in front of the tv. The family room was also located downstairs and was adjacent to Jeff’s bedroom. And since they had a tv upstairs in the living room, Jeff’s mother had promised that the boys could have the lower level of the house to themselves for the evening. It was nearing the 1:00 pm hour when Jeff’s mother called for the boys to come upstairs as she was ready to take them to the bowling alley.



After a short car ride, they had finally arrived at 20th Century Lanes, located in a strip mall on State St. in Boise. As the boys were getting out of the car, Jeff’s mom informed them that Jeff’s dad would be picking them up around 3:30 pm and to be sure to be out in front of the bowling alley at that time. Jeff assured his mother that they would be there at that time and with that, both boys thanked her for the ride and made their way inside of the bowling alley. The bowling alley was particularly busy for a spring Saturday but with the rain, it made perfect sense. The boys lucked out and were able to get a lane as there were no others waiting and some other bowlers had finished. The boys bowled 4 games, each of them winning two games. It was just after 3:00 pm when they finished so they had about 30 minutes to kill before Jeff’s dad would be there to pick them up. "What do you want to do Dave?" Jeff asked. Dave replied, "I guess we could walk down to the other end of the mall and see what other kinds of stores they have." It had stopped raining, and with that the boys began strolling to the other end of the mall, as they were walking they were conversing about everything but really nothing at all, just a bunch of small talk. The strip mall wasn’t too big but neither Jeff nor Dave had been to the other end, they had only been to the bowling alley, which was the last business at the east end of the mall. The mall was designed in a zig-zag pattern so you couldn’t really tell what other businesses were there unless you were driving or walking by.



The boys passed by a Chinese restaurant, a card shop, auto supply store, and grocery store. At the end of the grocery store is where it zig-zagged and the boys turned right to continue to the west end of the mall. The last business on the west end of the mall was a beauty salon and to the east of the beauty salon was a laundromat and next to it, tucked in the corner was Sportsmans Barbershop. The boys kept walking closer and closer to the barbershop; they seemed to be totally unaware of each other as if they were in a trance. They both suddenly stopped when they were at a point where they could see inside and both still unaware of the other, seemed to be mesmerized by what they saw. The lights in the barbershop were on, the sign in the window was turned to closed and the barber was either giving his last cut of the day or had inadvertently forgot to turn the sign in the window around to open. The man in the barber’s chair was getting a flattop haircut and Dave suddenly realized that it was the guy that he had so often seen in the park at the tennis courts. The boys, still in a trance like state, continued to watch the haircut in progress until the barber looked up. As soon as the barber’s eyes met the eyes of the boys, the boys snapped out of their trance. Jeff quickly looked down at his watch and said to Dave, "We better head back to the bowling alley; my dad will be here soon." Dave agreed as they both turned around and started walking away from the barbershop.



The walk back to the bowling alley was at a moderate pace and they continued to talk about everything but really nothing at all. There was no mention of what they had just witnessed taking place in the barbershop. It was as if they were embarrassed being caught by the barber for sneaking a peak. A couple of minutes after they arrived back at the bowling alley, Jeff’s dad arrived to pick them up. When they got into the car, Jeff sitting in the front seat and Dave sitting behind Jeff in the back seat, Jeff’s dad asked them if they had fun and both boys agreed that they did indeed have fun. Instead of Jeff’s dad turning south and heading through the parking lot to get back on to busy State St., he drove west toward Collister Dr. It was much easier to get back on State St. by going through the strip mall and turning south on Collister Dr. to the traffic signal at the intersection. The car was going slow as it turned right at the end of the grocery store and made its way toward the barbershop. Jeff and Dave were unaware of the other once again as the car slowly passed by the barbershop. Both boys’ heads were turned toward the barbershop hoping that the last haircut of the day was not finished. Unfortunately, the lights in the barbershop were now turned off. The barber and his last customer were standing outside of the barbershop chatting and as fate would have it, the barber once again noticed both of the boys looking in his direction. The barber smiled and waved which got the attention of Jeff’s dad. "Too bad he’s closed for the day; I’d stop and pay for both of you to get a decent haircut." Don said. Jeff replied, "I’m glad he’s closed, I don’t like barbershops." Dave agreed by saying yeah.



Once back at Jeff’s house the boys went outside and were shooting baskets with the basketball. "Jeff, do you think your dad would have stopped had that barbershop been opened?" asked Dave. "Nah," replied Jeff, "He was just trying to get a rise out of us, that’s all." The boys were just about finished with their game of horse when Jeff’s mom called for them to come inside for dinner. Dinner consisted of lasagna, green salad and garlic bread. Jeff’s mother was a fantastic cook and when Dave had finished his dinner he thanked her and complimented her cooking. Jeff’s mom was very pleased and said to Jeff, "I hope that you are as polite as Dave when you’re spending the night at his house." Dave let Jeff’s mom know that Jeff was just as polite and perhaps even more so. The boys went back outside to finish their game of horse and to toss the football around afterwards.



It was around 8:00 pm when Jeff and Dave decided to go back inside and settle down for the evening. The boys went downstairs and got their sleeping bags and pillows laid out in front of the tv and then went back into Jeff’s room. Jeff was feeding his fish and Dave asked, "Are we going to watch the Carol Burnett Show tonight?" Jeff replied, "Yes." Whenever Dave spent the night at Jeff’s, they watched the Carol Burnett Show, the boys thought this show was hilarious and always got a good laugh or two out of it. Cable tv had not yet made its way to Boise so the options were limited to 5 channels. The show came on at 9:00 pm and it was about 8:30 pm when the boys decided to put their pajamas on and go out to the family room and turn the tv on. The boys made small talk; mostly about how excited they were that there was only about one month of school left and what they would like to do during their summer vacation. About 5 minutes before the Carol Burnett Show started, Jeff’s mom brought down a big bowl of popcorn and some soda pop for the boys. As she was going back upstairs, Jeff’s mom reminded the boys to be careful not to spill their soda or get popcorn all over the carpet and to brush their teeth before falling asleep.



The show was beginning; Jeff and Dave were anxious to see what shenanigans Carol and her buddies had planned for the hour. Although Dave was watching the show and laughing along with Jeff, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Sportsmans Barbershop and what little bit of the flattop haircut in progress he got to see. Dave was also pondering whether or not to reveal his desire for a flattop haircut to Jeff. The show was about half way through and a commercial was playing when Dave said to Jeff, "Seeing that guy in the barbershop today getting a flattop haircut kind of makes me want to get one. I’ve actually wanted to get one for a long time." Jeff gave Dave a puzzled look and asked, "Are you crazy?" To which Dave replied, "No, I’m totally serious." "But you just spent all that money getting your hair permed," said Jeff. "I know," said Dave and he continued, "I got my hair permed because I thought it would help me fit in, be part of the in crowd but I haven’t seen much of a difference and I know it’s only been a week; I don’t think anything is going to change, so what difference is it going to make if I have wavy permed hair or a flattop?" Dave then asked Jeff, "Why did you get your hair permed?" The commercial break was over and so was the conversation, for the time being, as the boys didn’t want to miss anything. Dave decided that it was a mistake to reveal to Jeff his desire to get a flattop and that he wasn’t going to bring up the subject again.



The show was over and the evening news was beginning when Jeff, with an amused look on his face turned to Dave and asked, "So you’re serious about getting a flattop?" "Never mind Jeff, I shouldn’t have said anything; you probably think that I’m some kind of weirdo," Dave replied. "I’ve always thought that you were a weirdo," Jeff said jokingly. Dave started laughing and Jeff’s facial expression turned from amused to serious as he started talking, "Since I can remember, I’ve always admired the flattop haircut, and like you, I’ve wanted to get one." "Really," Dave said with a surprised tone to his voice and continued, "So you did notice the guy in the barbershop getting a flattop and I’m sure that you did recognize him as the same guy on the tennis court." "Yes to all of the above, and really, I thought that I was the only one that thought a flattop was cool, especially in this day and age when long hair is in," Jeff replied and added, "I’ll do it if you do." Dave was almost in a state of shock and couldn’t believe that anyone else, especially his best friend, felt the same way about a flattop haircut. Jeff looked at Dave and asked, "Are you alright?" "Yes," was Dave’s reply. "So, what do you say, are we going to do this or not," asked Jeff. It took Dave a few seconds to come back down to reality as the thought of actually getting a flattop filled him with mixed emotions. Finally, Dave said, "Yes, we are going to do this and I think that we should go to the barbershop right after we get out of school for the summer." Jeff agreed. The boys got up and went to the bathroom to brush their teeth before going to sleep for the evening, needless to say, neither one of them got much sleep that night as their imagination was going wild with thoughts of their future date at the barbershop.



There were four and a half weeks of school remaining for the year and Jeff and Dave expected them to go by slowly but they flew right by. The boys were walking to school on Monday morning chatting about the usual stuff when the conversation changed. "Well Jeff, just three more days of school left, actually two and a half since we get out early on Wednesday," Dave said. "Yep, and right after school we’re going to the barbershop, right," Jeff replied. "Yes," Dave responded. "You know there’s a barbershop just four blocks from school, we can go there," Jeff said. "You mean Vince’s Barbershop," Dave asked. "Yeah," Jeff replied. "I’d rather go to Sportsmans Barbershop just because we know that barber is capable of giving us a good flattop and I’d rather be safe than sorry." "I know it’s a couple of miles but I figured that after school we could walk home, get our bikes and ride over to the shop," Dave said. "Besides I’d rather not chance any of our classmates walking by when one of us is in the chair and have them stop and stare or point and laugh, if you know what I mean," Dave added. "You have a good point Dave; Sportsmans Barbershop it is," replied Jeff.



The next two days went by faster than expected for Jeff and Dave. As they were walking to their last day of school for the year, Jeff finishing 8th grade and Dave finishing 9th, Jeff said, "The big day is here Dave, how are you feeling about it?" "I’m excited and nervous about it, all at the same time," Dave responded. "Yeah, me too," said Jeff. The boys got to school just in time for the first period bell to ring. Jeff said to Dave, "I’ll meet you at our usual spot when school is over." "Okay," Dave replied. Dave had a hard time concentrating in his classes that day knowing that he would be getting his first flattop haircut in just a matter of hours. Dave was wondering if Jeff was also having a hard time concentrating but was quite certain that he was. As fast as the last two days had gone by, the next three and a half hours seemed to drag. Finally the last bell of the year signaled the beginning of summer vacation. The boys met at their usual meeting place when school as out and started briskly walking. "I hope no one except the barber is in the shop when we get there," Dave said. "I hope so too," Jeff replied. "Who’s going to go first," Dave asked. "I don’t know; perhaps we should let the barber decide, somehow," was Jeff’s reply. The boys got to Dave’s house and went inside. Dave changed into a t-shirt and short pants, grabbed $10 from his secret hiding stash and then he and Jeff went out the back door and got Dave’s bike. They then made the trek over to Jeff’s house. Dave waited outside as Jeff went inside, changed clothes and grabbed $10 as well. Just as Jeff was getting his bike, his mother came to the door and asked, "Where are you boys going?" "To China," Jeff replied. To his mother that meant he didn’t know for sure, just where ever. She said, "Okay, but please try to check in by 2:30 â€" 3:00 so I don’t worry about you." "You got it," Jeff responded.



The bike ride to Sportsmans Barbershop took about 15 minutes and as the boys approached the shop, they were happy to see that there was no one in the chair. Dave and Jeff dismounted their bikes and locked them up to the bike rack and made their way into the shop. The barber was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, smoking a cigarette. When the boys entered the shop, the barber said to them, "The beauty salon is a couple doors down." Dave replied with, "We know," and tried to continue but the barber cut him off. "I don’t do long hair styles in this shop if that’s what you’re looking for." "All my cuts are done with clippers and scissors, no hair over the ears, no middle parts, only side parts or no part and topped off with grease," the barber said. Jeff looked at the barber and replied, "Okay, you see my friend Dave here wants a flattop and I’m just here for moral support." Dave was stunned that Jeff had stood him up and could have easily turned around and walked out the door but he had come this far and it was going to happen. The barber smiled and said, "Yeah, I can cut one of those like nobody’s business." The barber put out his cigarette, got up and told Dave to go ahead and have a seat in the chair. Dave nervously obliged and once he was seated he glared at Jeff. Jeff just looked back with a smirk on his face. As the barber was caping Dave he was asking him how short of a flattop he wanted. Dave told the barber that he had never had a flattop and wasn’t really sure. At that time another customer walked in and Dave couldn’t believe that it was the flattop guy from the tennis court. That made Dave feel a little bit better that he wouldn’t be the only one leaving the shop with a flattop.



"Hello, Herb," said the flattop guy. "Hi Gary," replied the barber. "I was thinking that you would have been in here last Saturday for your usual two week cut," the barber said. "I had some chores to do and they took longer than I expected," Gary continued, "I’m on vacation this week, so it’s not a big deal." Gary walked over to the table with the magazines, picked one up and had a seat next to Jeff and started flipping through the pages. Herb began combing Dave’s hair and again asked him how short he wanted it, "Number 2 or number 1," Herb suggested. Dave had no idea what number 2 or number 1 meant since he had never been to a real barbershop before. So, Dave said to Herb, "I want it to look like Gary’s after you get done cutting his. Gary looked up from the magazine that he was flipping through in disbelief. Herb asked Gary "Is it going to be the usual today, five aught sides and back with a landing strip to match?" Gary replied, "Yep." Gary asked Dave "Is your dad making you get a flattop?" Dave replied, "No, you see my friend Jeff and I really like how the flattop looks and both of us discovered that the other wanted one, so Jeff said that he’d do it if I did." Dave continued, "We both agreed to get our matching flattops as soon as school was out for summer vacation, so here we are." Now it was Jeff’s turn to decide whether he was going to stay or walk out of the shop. Gary replied, "I never thought I’d see this, you’re both going to like your flattops a lot better than that long hair." At this point Gary seemed to lose interest in the magazine that he had been flipping through and sat it on the waiting chair next to his. He then said, "This is going to be a good double feature Herb." "Indeed it is," replied Herb as he was finishing combing Dave’s hair.



Dave was facing Jeff and Gary; there was no mirror in front of him only behind him. The few seconds of silence in the barbershop were suddenly broken by the sound of clippers but these clippers sounded different than the ones that Dave’s dad had used. These clippers made more of a whirring sound than a buzzing sound. They were Oster 76 shears Dave later learned. Herb approached Dave’s right side and asked, "Are you ready to look like a man?" Dave responded with, "As ready as I’m ever going to be." Herb placed the clippers on the right side of Dave’s face in front of his ear and slowly moved the clippers up just to above the temple area of Dave’s head. Dave could instantly feel the cool air on the freshly sheared strip where there had just been three or more inches of hair. Dave was shocked at how much hair had already fallen on to the cape with just one swipe of the clippers. Jeff also had a shocked look on his face while Gary was smiling and he said to Herb, "You might have to charge these boys extra for all the hair you’re taking off of their heads." Herb replied, "I thought about it but I decided not too; I’m actually going to enjoy this." Herb continued shearing with the second and third swipe with the third swipe starting at the base of Dave’s neck and coming up and around his ear. Herb continued shearing the back and Dave couldn’t believe how high the clippers were going up the back of his head especially in the middle. Herb was done shearing the back and moved on to the left side of Dave’s head. Herb never moved the chair one direction or the other, he just made his way around it. Once Herb was done shearing the left side of Dave’s head, he grabbed a flat comb, lifted Dave’s bangs up with the flat comb and sheared them down to about an inch and a half. Jeff seemed to have come out of his state of shock and was enjoying the show along with Gary. Gary said to Herb, "That doesn’t look like a five aught?" "It isn’t," said Herb, "I’m starting out with a number 2 to remove the bulk and once I’ve got the bulk removed we’ll get it tightened up and squared away. All the while Herb continued lifting the hair on the top of Dave’s head with the flat comb and shearing it off to about an inch and a half, the same process was used, with the flat comb on both sides of Dave’s head, except Herb held the comb vertically instead of horizontally. When Herb was satisfied with the sides he went back behind Dave and held Dave’s head in place with his left hand and out of the corner of Dave’s eye, Dave could see Herb raise the clippers. Herb positioned the clippers on the top middle section of Dave’s head and pushed them slowly back. Dave could actually feel the teeth of the blades moving back and forth as they were forming the landing strip of the flattop. The look on Dave’s face must have been priceless as Jeff and Gary began to laugh or perhaps it was because of the quarter inch length of the landing strip was the only portion of Dave’s hair that was slightly standing up.



Herb turned the Oster 76 clippers off and placed them in their rightful place on the counter. Herb then grabbed a jar of Lucky Tiger butchwax, removed the lid and dipped his index finger into the wax and removed a generous amount. Dave had no idea what was happening behind him but he could hear the barber’s hands rubbing together vigorously. Herb turned around and Dave could see his hands rise to his hairline and then go through his shorter hair and this continued for about 30 seconds. Dave started laughing when he saw the expression on Jeff’s face as Herb was applying the butchwax to Dave’s hair. "What are you putting in his hair," Jeff asked. Herb replied, "It’s butchwax and it’s what makes your hair stand up, nice and straight, isn’t that right Gary?" Gary said, "Yes, I use it every day and you boys will also need to use it if you want your flattop to look sharp like mine." Jeff asked, "Can’t we just use some hair gel and a blow dryer? Herb replied, "I suppose you could but it won’t happen here today; do you remember what I told you when you first came into the shop?" "I don’t own a blow dryer nor do I believe in them, they’re for women’s hair only, in my opinion," he continued with an annoyed tone to his voice. Dave could feel the weight of butchwax in his hair as Herb was applying it. When Herb was done applying the butchwax he turned to the counter and washed his hands to remove the butchwax that remained on them. While he was doing that, Dave took his right hand out from under the cape to feel the back of his head. The new short length of Dave’s hair was something he hadn’t felt since his dad had last cut his hair and Dave began thinking that this wasn’t going to be too bad after all, forgetting that Herb was far from done with the back and sides. When Herb was done washing and drying his hands, he grabbed a hairbrush and began brushing Dave’s hair up and back. Dave was still in awe at the amount of hair that had collected on the barber cape and just then Herb loosened the cape and shook all of the hair that had accumulated on it to the floor in front of the chair and then he placed it back around Dave’s neck and fastened it.



The Oster 76 clippers sprang back to life as Herb clicked them on but they had a higher pitch whirring sound to them than earlier until Dave heard a snap which brought the whirring sound back down to the pitch that Dave was familiar with. The snap that Dave heard was Herb attaching the 5 aught blade to the clippers. Herb once again positioned himself on Dave’s right side and placed the clipper on the side of Dave’s face and began slowly moving them up to just above the temple area of Dave’s head. Dave felt a bit sick when he saw how much more hair was coming off. Sure it wasn’t as much as the first go around but Dave had a feeling that the next time he felt the back of his head, it was going to feel much different than when he had felt it just a few minutes earlier. Herb continued shearing what was left of the sides and back of Dave’s head and once again held Dave’s head in place with his left hand as he positioned the clippers on the top middle section of Dave’s head and slowly pushed them back reducing the landing strip from one quarter inch to practically nothing. Herb then grabbed his flat comb and began leveling out the top to blend in with the landing strip. Dave asked Jeff and Gary how it was looking since Dave had yet to be faced in front of the mirror. Jeff replied, "Shorter than you probably wanted, Dave." Gary followed with, "It’s starting to look real good and you’re going to really like it once you get used to it." Since Jeff had commented that it was shorter than Dave probably wanted, he asked, "So how short is 5 aught?" To which Herb replied, "It’s as short as you can get, the only way to get it any shorter is to lather it up and shave it off." Dave definitely felt sick to his stomach now; he wished that he hadn’t said told Herb that he wanted it to look just like Gary’s. Oh well, what’s done is done and there is definitely no turning back at this point, Dave thought. Dave was now convinced that Jeff would not go through with getting a flattop of any sort. While all of this was going through Dave’s head, Herb had switched from the Oster 76 clippers to the regular clippers that made the buzzing sound. Herb was free-handing the top and sides of Dave’s flattop getting it as even and flat on top as he could and giving the sides a slight bit of a bevel so it didn’t look to square. After a few minutes, Herb loosened the cape and then cleaned up the bottom part of Dave’s neck that the cape had covered. When he was finished with that, Herb removed the cape and said, "Yes sir."



Dave’s flattop was complete and he hadn’t even seen it yet. It seems that Herb never showed anyone the end result of his work, just off with the cape and a yes sir. Dave got out of the chair and slowly turned toward the mirror, to see his new look for the first time. Dave saw his reflection in the mirror for the first time and at first didn’t recognize the young man, with a perfect horseshoe flattop staring back at him. Dave began to smile and was pleased with his new appearance despite all of the negative thoughts that were going through his head when he was sitting in the chair. Dave said, "This is definitely shorter than I thought I wanted, but I like it and I’m not sorry that I got it cut like Gary’s." Herb and Gary laughed at the comment. Herb said to Dave, "That’ll be $5 young man." Dave handed Herb a $10 and requested that Herb only give him back $3 in change to which Herb said, "Thank you very much young man, I appreciate that and I’m glad that you’re not mad at me." Herb handed Dave his change, pointed at Jeff and said, "You’re next; Dave and Gary will be here for moral support." To which Dave and Gary laughed at.



Jeff had a look of fear in his eyes that Dave had never seen before. Jeff got up and turned toward the door which upset Dave. Dave said, "Jeff you said you’d do it if did; I can’t believe you’re not going to do it." Just then Gary got up and grabbed Jeff by the shoulders and said, "Don’t make me put you in that chair and tie you to it." Gary continued, "This is none of my business but it seems that you promised Dave that you’d get a flattop if he did and would you really want to jeopardize your friendship over something stupid like hair?" "It’d be a shame not to see you boys at the tennis court having fun." Dave couldn’t believe that Gary recognized them from the tennis. Jeff couldn’t believe it either and finally said, "Yeah, you’re right, I’ll do it, but I don’t know if I want to go that short." To which Dave replied, "You’ll be sorry if you don’t," and Gary agreed. Herb said, "I’ll tell you what, I’ll start out with a #2 sides and back, show you what it looks like and then you can decide whether or not you want to go shorter." "Do we have a deal," Herb asked. Jeff agreed and got into the barber chair.



Herb caped Jeff and looked at Dave and Gary and gave them a wink. Dave and Gary were confused by the wink until Herb took the first swipe with the Oster 76 clippers. Instead of Herb starting on Jeff’s right side, like he had with Dave, he started on Jeff’s left side so Dave and Gary could see what he was up to. Instead of starting out with a #2 attachment blade, like he did with Dave, he started with the 5 aught blade attachment on Jeff. Jeff had absolutely no clue what was happening and Dave felt kind of sorry for him in a way but was glad that Jeff and he would be walking out of the shop with matching horseshoe flattops. After Herb finished shearing the sides and back of Jeff’s head, he held the back of Jeff’s head in place with his left hand, positioned the clipper with the 5 aught blade on the top middle section of Jeff’s head and slowly pushed them back leaving Jeff with a skin tight landing strip. Herb shut off the Oster 76 clippers and placed them back on the counter in their rightful place. Herb then grabbed the jar of Lucky Tiger butchwax and instead of getting a one finger scoop as he had with Dave; he got a huge two finger scoop and began vigorously rubbing it in his hands. He then applied the wax to Jeff’s long hair on the sides and top of his head that had not been introduced to the Oster 76 clippers. Herb brushed Jeff’s hair up high and back leaving Jeff with a respectable looking pompadour had it not been for the carved in landing strip in the middle of Jeff’s head.



Jeff must have sensed that something was up as he asked, "How come you haven’t cut any of the hair on top, besides the middle section, like you did with Dave?" "Well Jeff, the texture of your hair is different than Dave’s and I’m able to get it to stand up real good at this length and for the most part I can free hand most of it off before going to the flat comb." Herb replied as he gave Dave and Gary another wink and picked up the Oster 76 clippers, flicked them on and positioned them in the front middle section of Jeff’s head and slowly moved them back. At this point Jeff looked like he had a reverse Mohawk which made Dave and Gary smile. Dave assured Jeff by saying, "Your flattop is probably going to look better than mine." Herb continued to remove the bulk of the hair on the sides and top of Jeff’s head until the respectable pompadour was gone. Herb grabbed his flat comb and began taking the top down shorter so it was similar to Dave’s and then he got the sides evened up. Herb then shut of the Oster 76 clippers and placed them and the flat comb back on the counter and picked up the regular clippers and began free handing the top until it was perfectly flat and then he free handed the sides with a slight bevel, just like Dave’s. The cape was then loosened and Herb grabbed is smaller clippers and cleaned up the bottom part of Jeff’s neck. The cape then came off and Herb said, "Yes sir." Jeff was shocked, to say the least, as he got out of the chair and slowly turned around to face the mirror.



Jeff’s look of shock disappeared when he saw the young man with the perfect horseshoe flattop staring back at him. He smiled as he said, "You tricked me and I’m glad that you did." Herb replied, "I knew you wouldn’t be disappointed and that’ll be $5 please." Jeff handed Herb a $10 and requested that he only give him back $3 in change. Herb handed Jeff his change and then pointed at Gary and said, "You’re next." Gary got up and sat in the chair as Dave and Jeff were beginning to walk out the door. Dave suddenly turned around and asked, "Do you know where we can get some butchwax?" To which Herb replied, "I sell it for a $1 a jar." Dave and Jeff were both reaching back into their pockets for money when Gary said, "I’ll pay for it Herb, after all, I’m really impressed that these young men had the guts to get their hair cut like this, even though Jeff needed a bit of coaxing." Herb handed both Dave and Jeff a jar of Lucky Tiger butchwax and he then said, "I’ll see you young men in two weeks." Dave and Jeff looked at each other with confusion and Dave asked Herb, "Why two weeks, with a haircut this short I shouldn’t need it cut again for another 6 weeks," as Jeff was nodding his head in agreement. "You’ll know why in two weeks," Gary said to the young men. Dave and Jeff thanked Gary for buying their butchwax for them and then went outside, sporting their matching flattops, to greet the world for the first time.



Dave and Jeff’s bike ride back to Jeff’s house was uneventful for the most part. The boys agreed that the bike ride home was much cooler than the ride to the barbershop, without all of the hair that they had 45 minutes earlier. When they got to Jeff’s house, they walked inside and were greeted by Jeff’s mother, she had to do a double take and started giggling and said, "Jeff you look just like your father did when we first met," she continued "I think you both look great but what in the world got into you guys to get flattops?" Jeff replied, "Both of us decided about a month ago that we wanted one and agreed to do it on the last day of school." Dave nodded his head in agreement. Jeff and Dave then went down to Jeff’s and messed around for a few hours until it was time for Dave to go home for dinner.



Dave was nervous as he opened the gate to the backyard to walk his bike in and put it in the garage. When the bike was in its place, Dave took a deep breath and made his way to the back door, opened it and went inside. He could hear his parents talking in the kitchen as he made is way in. Dave walked up the three stairs to the short landing before entering the doorway to the kitchen. Dave’s dad was standing, facing the doorway when Dave entered and his dad got his first glance at Dave’s flattop. Dave met his dad’s eyes and his dad said, "Wow, what got into you," as Dave’s mother turned around and gasped when she saw Dave. Dave said, "Jeff and I decided to do this about a month ago, so we did it." Dave’s mom was kind of in shock and said, "I’m not crazy about it but if that’s what you want I guess it’s okay." Dave’s dad replied, "I really like it Dave, I think you look fantastic; it’s much better than that perm you had." "Thanks dad," Dave replied. Just at that time Dave’s three brothers, curious about what the conversation was about came into the kitchen and started laughing when they saw him. Dave’s dad said, "That’s enough boys, you three are due for a haircut and if I hear anymore laughing or teasing Dave about his hair, I’ll take you to Vince for a haircut just like Dave’s." That statement caught Dave’s brothers attention and they all turned away and back into the living room to watch tv. Dave’s dad asked, "So Jeff got a flattop too?" "Yes, but he needed a little persuasion after my haircut was finished," Dave replied. Dave’s dad, thankfully didn’t ask about the details but he then said, "Vince did a real nice job on your flattop." Dave replied back, "We didn’t go to Vince, we went to Sportsmans Barbershop because we saw him cutting a flattop about a month ago and that’s when Jeff and I decided to get one and we decided to go there, rather than Vince because we figured he knew how to cut one." Dave’s dad said, "Regardless of where you got it cut, the barber did a real fine job." Dave was happy that his father approved but knew all along that he would.



Two weeks had passed and Dave and Jeff soon understood what Herb meant when he said that he’d see them in two weeks. Dave and Jeff continued to go to the Sportsmans Barbershop every two weeks to get their flattops tuned up until about mid-August when they decided to start growing it out for the school year but they vowed that they would both get flattops again next year on the last day of school.

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