College Fund Contribution by Shant

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I live in a neighborhood called Kenilworth. My home is located at the middle of Kenilworth Road which is the main street in the neighborhood. Anyone that lives in Kenilworth has to drive right past by my house.

When I bought my house I immediately started planting gardens. I grew up on a farm and I loved working outside. Some of my fondest memories as a child were working with my grandmother in her gardens.

Because I planted only perennials, after some years passed, I had way too much work for me to handle by myself. I decided I needed to hire someone to help me with major garden projects, especially in the spring, when I mulched the gardens, and in the fall, when it was time to rake leaves. I met so many people while working in my yard that I figured I could easily find some young guy who lived nearby and could help me.

There was this one young guy, by the name of Jimmy, that always stopped by and talked with me if he saw me outside working. I asked him if he would like to make some extra money and would he be interested in working with me when I needed someone to help me?

Jimmy said that would be great and agreed to help me whenever I needed him. He had now worked for me his last two years of high school and his first two years of college. He attended college only twenty miles from where we lived, so it was easy for him to come home on a weekend and help me out. I came to really depend on him.

It was the first of June, and Jimmy was home from college for the summer. He had just finished his sophomore year. One day while I was outside working, he stopped by to say hello. "I’m spending my junior year of college in France this year and I’m trying to earn as much money as I can before I go," Jimmy said. "I’m working a 40 hour a week job, but I would like to earn as much extra money as I can before I leave. I was wondering if you have any projects you need help with?" he asked.

"I’m sorry, but I’m just about all caught up right now. I’d be glad to make a contribution to your college fund though. Consider it a way of thanking you for all the help you have provided for me these past four years. You’ve always been a really great worker and I’ve always been able to depend on you. I don’t think there are all that many guys your age that are as determined in planning for their future as you are."

I always looked forward to seeing Jimmy when he came home from college. He had started letting his hair grow as soon as he went off to school. The kid really had an awesome head of hair. It was now past his shoulders and most of the time he had it tied back in a ponytail. His hair was so black and so thick. It really was beautiful.

Jimmy telling me that he was trying to save money for his year abroad immediately gave me an idea. Maybe I didn’t have any projects that he could help me with, but I did have an idea that could make him some money, if he were interested, and would also allow me to have a really fantastic time. I knew I had to slowly tell him what I had in mind and not be too aggressive and scare him off.

"Man, you’ve really let that hair of yours get long since you began college," I said. "It’s definitely the longest I have ever seen it. You really do have a fantastic looking head of hair there. How long are you going to continue to let it grow?"

"As soon as I can make enough extra money, I’m going to get it cut," Jimmy said. "It’s driving me crazy! When I was in high school, I decided that when I went off to college, I was going to grow my hair long enough so that I could tie it back in a ponytail. I figured that while being in France my junior year, and interviewing for jobs my senior year, that the likelihood of ever having really long hair again would probably never get to happen."

"I have hair just like my dad. I was lucky. Most of my friend’s fathers were always on them to get their hair cut. My dad was just the opposite. He told me that I should definitely grow my hair long while I could, because if I really wanted to see how I looked with long hair, this might be the only chance that I would ever get to do it."

"He told me that he had grown his hair all through college and it looked pretty much like the way mine does now. He said he was glad that he did it. He still has a head of really great looking hair."

"Now that I’ve had my hair this way for awhile, I’m ready for a change. My hair is just so thick that it’s really a pain to deal with during this hot weather. At the end of the day, if I have been working outside, my hair is a soaking mess. I’m really tired of having to spend so much time on it."

This was exactly what I hoped to hear Jimmy say. Since I now knew he wanted to get his hair cut, I decided to see if I could talk him into letting me cut his hair for him. His hair was so fantastic that I knew I would have a really awesome time getting my hands in his tremendous mane.

"You know, I have an idea of a way that you could make some extra money, if you are interested," I said. "I’m sure I’ve told you that I started out as a barber and cut hair for six years before changing to the job I now have."

"I’ve converted a room in my house into a barbershop and I still have a lot of guys that come to my house to get their hair cut, instead of going to the barbershop where I used to work."

"Because this still gives me the chance to cut some great hair, I give the guys a break and charge them $10.00 less for a haircut. Since I am now no longer renting a space at the barbershop, I make just about the same amount of money, but now I can have another career, and yet still cut hair whenever I feel like it. A lot of these guys have become good friends and it’s an easy way to see them on a regular basis."

"I still enjoy getting to cut a really great head of hair. You say that you want to get your hair cut? How about if you let me cut it for you? You’ve really got a fantastic looking head of hair there. It’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. None of the guys whose hair I cut can even begin to compare with yours. I haven’t cut hair anywhere near as long as yours in years. It really is awesome looking."

"Here’s my idea," I said. "If you really want to get your hair cut, I’d be willing to pay you if you would let me cut it for you. I’ve already said I will be glad to make a contribution to your "France Fund," but I’d be willing to make a larger contribution if you let me cut your hair. You’ve got such a great head of hair that I would really like to cut it. Would you be interested in doing that?"

"Seriously, you’re saying you’ll pay me if I let you give me a haircut? Seeing that you’re a barber, it sounds like a win-win situation for me. I don’t see how I could lose. How would you want to cut my hair?" Jimmy asked.

"That’s totally up to you, but the contribution will be larger the shorter you let me cut it," I said with a smile. "I’d have a fantastic time getting my hands in that mane of yours. I haven’t cut hair as nice as yours in a long time and I’d really like to give you a short haircut."

"I don’t want to sound crass or greedy," Jimmy said. "It’s tempting, though, knowing that the shorter I let you cut my hair, the more money you’ll be willing to pay me. Hell, if you paid me enough, I’d probably let you buzz it all off!"

"I’m sick of having all this hair and if I can make some extra money by letting you cut it, why not? I really would like to get rid of it. Even if you buzzed it all off, I’d have four months before going to France, and I could grow it out a couple of inches before I leave."

"I don’t think anything looks more striking than really black hair that is super thick and long, and that’s exactly what you have. You have such awesome hair that I’d hate to see you buzz it all off," I said. "If you’re willing to get it cut short though, I know exactly the haircut I would like to give you."

"Instead of buzzing it all off, I’d like to give you a long, square, boxy flattop. Have you ever had a flattop before? It’s my favorite haircut to do, and you have the perfect hair for one. I wouldn’t want to give you a short military looking flattop, instead I’d like to give you a more contemporary looking one."

"I’d like to taper the sides and back down short and then leave your hair on top about an inch long. I’d leave the front about an inch and a half long, so that you could just barely brush it back. Your hair is so thick that I’m sure I could cut the top and it would be as flat as a board. You’d look amazingly different, but I I think you would look really awesome."

"You know, if you ended up not liking it, it will still be longer than me giving you a buzzcut. If you immediately started growing it out, it would be over three inches long on top before you left for France."

"If you’re willing to let me give you that kind of haircut, I’ll donate $300.00 to your trip. Would that be enough for you to let me cut it? I’d really like to do it. Hair like your’s doesn’t come along all that often."

"Man, are you really serious? You’ll pay me that much money to cut my hair? That’s a lot more than I expected. It sure would be a big help in raising the amount of money I hope I can make before leaving for France. I’ve never had a flattop before, but I’d be willing to let you give me one for that much money. When would you like to cut it?" Jimmy said.

"No time like the present. If you’re not doing anything now, come on in the house and I’ll cut it right now." When Jimmy said that he would let me give him a flattop, I knew I didn’t want to give him any time to change his mind. This was all happening on the spur of the moment, and I was definitely going to take advantage of it.

"You’ve got a deal!" Jimmy said. "Getting rid of this hair and making that much extra money will really be a big help. I’m ready. Let’s do it. Go ahead and give me a flattop!"

We went into the house and up to second floor where I had my barber shop. I was fortunate that a bathroom was right beside the room I had converted. It was easy to run plumbing into it and then have a sink if I wanted to wash a guy’s hair before cutting it.

I had bought the barber chair that I used at the shop where I had worked because the guy was going to downsize and would no longer need it. I had large mirrors on three of the walls so that a guy could watch getting his hair cut.

When I started being a barber, it didn’t take me long to realize how so many guys were so secretly in love with their hair, especially if they had great hair. Most of the guys that come to my house all have great hair, which was an added bonus.

"The first thing I’d like to do is wash your hair and then blow dry it," I said. "I want to brush it all up and back and get it to stand up as tall as I can. Your hair has so much body that you’re going to be amazed by how huge your hair is going to look."

"Sit yourself down in the chair, Sir, and get yourself ready for an amazing time! I’m really stoked that I’m getting to do this. This is going to be fantastic!"

I then caped him up and tipped the barber chair back so that all his long hair was hanging in the sink. God, his hair was so awesome. I knew I was going to have the time of my life.

I then wet his hair and applied shampoo and began massaging his scalp. Getting to run my hands through his hair was sensational. His hair was so thick, and so long, that I couldn’t even see my hands when I ran them through his incredible mane.

Jimmy was so good looking that I was really psyched to see how how different he would look with a flattop. I had never seen him with short hair. I thought to myself that I couldn’t remember ever getting my hands in such a wonderful head of hair. Jimmy sat back and closed his eyes, obviously enjoying having me wash his hair.

After I finished washing his hair, I sat him back straight up in the chair and took a towel and dried his hair so that it wasn’t so wet and began using my blow dryer and brushed his gorgeous hair all straight up and back as tall as I could get it. He had so much hair!

Jimmy wore his hair parted down the middle. When I brushed it all up and back, I immediately eliminated his part, which made his hair stand up even higher. His hair was so thick that it stood up over six inches on top and stayed perfectly in place. "With your hair being so thick and so straight, any way you cut it, it will always look great," I said.

After I finished drying Jimmy’s hair, I said, "Lets take some pictures of you so you can remember how you looked with such long hair. Using the blow dryer, your hair is really huge! It’s unreal how much fuller it looks when you dry it with a blow dryer, instead of just letting it dry naturally. It must take a long time for you to dry your hair."

"Your dad is right. College is the perfect time for a guy to grow his hair long if he really wants to do it. My hair was just about as long as yours is right now when I was in college."

"You’ve got a nice looking head of hair," Jimmy said. "I bet it looked awesome when you had it so long."

"The problem with my hair was that when I started growing it long, all these curls emerged all over my head. When my hair was short, I never even realized that I had curly hair. I really hated them. I never could get my hair to look the way I wanted. I thought I looked like Little Orphan Annie. As much as I wanted to have long hair, I realized that my hair looked a lot better when I kept it shorter."

"Every once in awhile, I would try growing it longer again, but as soon as the curls started appearing, I couldn’t stand them and I would get it cut. When in college, it didn’t matter how long my hair was and I really didn’t care how it looked, but my senior year I cut it down short in order to start interviewing for jobs."

I couldn’t wait to get my scissors in Jimmy’s pretty hair. I think most barbers, if given the opportunity, would probably want to enjoy the rush of buzzing off Jimmy’s long, beautiful hair all at once. Seeing that this was the first time I was getting to cut his hair, I wanted to take my time and really enjoy getting to play with his wonderful mane.

I was definitely in no rush to quickly cut off all his beautiful hair. I was going to take it down a little at a time, using only scissors to take off most of the length, and then I would be ready to turn the clippers on him.

I had known Jimmy now for four years and during that time I was certain that a pair of clippers had never been used on his precious locks. I wondered when was the last time he had clippers used on him? This was going to be fantastic.

"It’s going to be really wild seeing you without all your long hair. Are you sure you really want to do this?" I asked him. "Aren’t you going to miss having all this beautiful hair? It really is incredible looking. You’re a lucky guy to have such fantastic hair."

"Go for it!" Jimmy said. "I can’t believe how great this is turning out. I’ve never had a flattop, but I’m actually looking forward to seeing how I will look with one. My hair was fairly long all through high school. I’ve never had my hair really short before. I can’t imagine what it is going to look like, but I’m ready whenever you are."

"Rather than cutting your hair off all at once, I’d like to take it down a bit at a time and comb it several different ways as I cut it shorter. I have to be honest with you, and tell you that I’m really stoked getting to do this. I had never thought about cutting your hair before you mentioned you wanted to get your hair cut. I doubt I’ll ever get the opportunity to cut hair as fantastic as your’s ever again."

"Getting to cut your hair several different ways is a barber’s ultimate fantasy. Getting to cut such awesome hair down is going to be unreal. I hope it’s okay with you if I’m not in a hurry. I don’t think you have any idea how awesome your hair really is and how much I’m going to enjoy cutting it."

"For $300.00, you can take all the time you want," Jimmy said. "Actually, I think it will be a blast seeing it cut down shorter several times, as opposed to seeing it all come off at once."

The first thing I wanted to do was take some of the bulk off his gorgeous mane. "Okay, here we go!" I said. "I hope you’re ready!" I took a comb and with my scissors, I lifted up his forelock and combed it straight up. Jimmy had over twelve inches of wonderful hair. I loved seeing how awesome it looked and combed it up several times before I took my scissors and sliced off about three inches. I made certain that all his hair fell into his lap.

I continued to cut three inches off everywhere, making certain it fell into his lap. I wasn’t really giving him a finished haircut, I just wanted the excuse to get to keep my hands in his hair as long as I could.

It was wonderful combing it and cutting off three inches of his beautiful locks. Once I finished doing that, I brushed his hair back again, and let it part wherever it naturally fell, and took some more pictures.

"There, I just took some of the bulk off so that I can now begin to give you a couple different looking hairstyles before I do the flattop," I said. "How are you doing so far? Any regrets? You can still back out if you want to."

It was obvious that Jimmy was enjoying watching his transformation begin. "This is so great," he said. "It’s going to be really awesome seeing how I look each time you give me a different looking haircut. I can’t wait!"

When Jimmy began college and started letting his hair grow, I suspected that he had a real love affair with his precious locks… and why shouldn’t he? His hair was really striking. "Okay, are you ready to get more of your pretty locks taken down and have a new looking haircut?" I said.

"I’m ready! Go for it!" Jimmy replied. "I can’t wait to see how it’s going to look this time!"

I combed all Jimmy’s hair on the top and sides straight down. His hair hung below his chin! I parted his hair on each side and then combed the top all up and to the middle. I gathered it all up and then tied it with a rubber band to keep it from falling down into the sides and back.

I took my wide tooth comb and lifted up his hair on the sides, which were still down to his shoulders, and cut off about four inches so that his ear lobes were slightly showing. I then started cutting it down a little shorter as I worked my way to the back, continuing to make certain that all the hair that I cut was piling up in his lap.

When I finished, his hair still hung about two inches below his collar. The pile of hair in his lap was getting huge and I had barely begun the haircut. I was really having a fantastic time!

I then untied the rubber band. His hair on top was still over nine inches long and it cascaded all down the sides and back. Lock by lock, I lifted them up and took off another three inches, which left his hair still six inches long on top. I then parted his hair on the left side and brushed the sides back, still covering most of his ears, and then brushed the top up and back to the right.

His hair had such great body that it was probably standing up about five inches on top. I stood behind him and began to vigorously run my hands through his hair from the front to the back. Talk about feeling a rush! I did this for quite awhile. I wanted his hair to look a little messy, instead of looking too perfectly combed. I also wanted to keep playing with his fantastic hair. When I did this, it really showed off his beautiful, thick locks even more.

"So, how do you like your hair like this?" I asked. "I’m going to take some more pictures and then move on to the next haircut, that’s if you still want me too."

"I think it looks great and I’m having the time of my life!" Jimmy said. "I wish you had been cutting my hair all these last four years."

"I know exactly how I am going to cut your hair this time," I said. "I promise you that you have never had your hair styled like the way I’m now going to cut it. With you having such great hair, I’m positive that it’s going to look awesome."

I slightly sprayed all Jimmy’s hair a little so that it was slightly wet. I was only going to be using scissors for this haircut. I once again parted his hair on both sides and brushed the top all up and to the middle and tied it with the rubber band.

I combed a side down, and starting at his temple sectioned off a lock easily over six inches long and sliced it down to three. He was going to still have a lot of hair to brush back, but it would no longer be touching his ears. After I finished doing the same to the other side, I worked on blending both sides into the back. Jimmy’s hair in back was now above his collar and was about two inches long.

I untied the rubber band and let all his pretty locks fall everywhere. I brushed his hair on the left all up and back to the right. I then took my scissors and starting at the front, took his hair on top and cut it down another three inches so that it was now six inches long. I blended the top into the sides that were all swept up and back.

I then dampened his hair again and took some pomade and ran it through his hair. Using the blow dryer again, I continued brushing the sides back and the top as high as I could get it.

I don’t think there is anything more striking than long, shiny, black hair all swept up and back. I had given Jimmy a pompadour. I’m sure he had never had one before and I was anxious to see what he thought. "So, how do you like how your hair looks? A guy has to have really great hair to pull off a pompadour, and you definitely have it."

"I can’t believe how different I look," Jimmy said. "I really think this is a wild looking haircut, but I really like it." I took another group of photos. I wanted Jimmy to be able to see the progression as his hair got shorter and shorter. I also wanted to have a set of these pictures for myself.

"I’m going to take the clippers now, and just taper around your ears and in the back, so that you can see how different you will look without very much hair being cut off. If you were to decide to wear a pompadour, I’d want to cut it the way I’m now going to cut it. It’s a more contemporary look, and will really show off how great your hair is, and it would be a lot easier to deal with during the heat."

"You say you can’t remember having clippers used on your hair probably since middle school? This will be a great way for you to get re-introduced to them again," I said. I gave Jimmy a medium looking taper.

He jumped a little when I first turned the clippers on and placed them in the back against his neck. He soon calmed down when he saw that he was not losing all that much hair. I didn’t want to cut all that much off, because I wanted his hair to be as long as it could when I began the flattop, which was going to happen next.

The amount of hair in his lap was really getting huge and there was still three inches on the sides and six inches on the top for me to cut. I was really looking forward to cutting so much of his beautiful hair off and adding it to the already huge pile.

I could not get enough of brushing Jimmy’s hair. It was so gorgeous. He had said earlier that he wished I had cut his hair the last four years. I hoped that when he came back from France that I would get to be his barber all the time. It would be a blast giving him all different kinds of haircuts and especially getting to run my hands through his hair.

"Okay, now it’s time for the big cut!" I said. "I first need to dry your hair and brush it all up and back again and see how high I can get this mane of yours to stand up one last time. I’m glad I started using the clippers on you a little so that you can now feel more relaxed and enjoy watching me cut off all that hair of your’s on top. I know this is going to be an incredible rush for you. It definitely is going to be for me. Are you ready?"

"I can’t wait!" Jimmy said. "I have always wanted to grow my hair longer, and the thought of doing exactly the opposite and cutting it shorter, has never entered my mind. This is going to be totally mind blowing!"

I placed my hand firmly on the top of Jimmy’s head and pushed it down so that his chin was almost touching his chest. I had placed the #2 guard on the clippers and was going to run them about two inches above his ears. After I did that, I was going to take the #1 guard and go about half way up the sides and back again. He was going to be showing a little skin and the contrast with his thick black hair was going to look spectacular.

I started at the center in back and ran the clippers almost all the way up to the crown. It was easy to keep all of his hair to continue falling into his lap. "Look at all that hair you have coming off!" I said. "I can’t believe what a time this has been!" Jimmy was sitting there looking awestruck seeing so much of his hair coming off.

After I finished buzzing the sides, I took the camera and took a lot more pictures. With almost no hair on the sides and six inches standing almost perfectly straight up on top, he looked unreal!

It was now time to buzz down the top. I was so stoked that I was getting to do this. At the last moment, I changed my mind and decided I was first going to take the scissors and take the top down so I could continue a little longer having my hands in his hair. Starting at the front, I lifted up his six inch locks and cut them down to two.

As I worked my way to the back, I took a little more off. Lifting up his beautiful locks and taking that much more off was a real rush. I could see that Jimmy had relaxed and was enjoying watching what was happening. Once I finished taking down the bulk of his hair on top, I switched to my clippers and began the task of squaring up the back and sides and flattening out the top. He was definitely going to have an awesome looking flattop.

As I began using the clippers again to finish the flattop, I could see Jimmy’s face in the mirror. He had the biggest smile. It was obvious that he really liked the haircut, especially considering that he had never really had short hair in his entire life.

I took a pomade that made your hair shine and ran it all through his hair. Like I had said earlier, I don’t think anything looks more striking than thick, black hair that really shines. I took a thick brush and proceeded to vigorously brush his hair, getting it to be perfectly square from every angle. I thought he looked spectacular.

"Well, there you are," I said. "I think you look awesome. It must have been a rush seeing all that hair coming off. What do you think? Any regrets?"

"No way, man, I love this! I never dreamed that I could look so different. I think that I’m going to keep it like this until I go to France," Jimmy said.

"I’m glad to hear that you like it. You know, in order for it to keep looking sharp, you’ll need to get it trimmed about every three weeks. If you’d like, I’ll be glad to cut it for you until you leave for France. The haircuts are on me because I’ve had such a great time. I want your flattop to always be looking perfect!"

I then took a lot more pictures, wanting to be certain we had some great before and after shots. I had taken pictures after every hair cut, so there was going to be a great progression of all his different haircuts. He was such a handsome guy and he looked fantastic in every single shot.

"When you come back from France, I hope you’ll start having me cut your hair all the time. You know, we have to keep you looking sharp for job interviews. If you stay in the area after college, you’ll have free haircuts for life. There are so many ways I’d like to cut your hair, and I know you will look awesome every single time."

When Jimmy left, I gathered up all his long beautiful locks and put them in a gallon ziplock bag. The bag was almost bursting at the seams. It was like a pillow. I knew that I was definitely going to keep his hair. Whenever I looked at it, I would think back and remember what a fantastic day this had been.

I couldn’t wait for a year to pass by and when Jimmy returned from France having him sit in my chair again. I wondered how long his hair was going to be when he returned? Maybe I’d get to talk him into getting another flattop!

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