4995 Stories - Awaiting Approval:Stories 1; Comments 0.
This site is for Male Haircut Stories and Comments only.
Danny Grows Up by Deke Cutter
Danny grew up near his grandparents who lived close by him in their old ethnic neighborhood. They were his mother's parents and were quite young for grandparents, having had Danny's mother when they were barely out of their teens, not unusual in "the . old country," but fairly unique among Danny's friends.
Every three weeks, his grandfather would say to Danny in that funny way he talked, "come with me ‘Tot,’ I'm taking a haircut." (always ‘taking a haircut,’ like ‘taking a cup of tea,’ never ‘having,’ or ‘getting.’ Danny loved going places with his grandpa and would take his hand and walk down the road, knowing a treat would be bought before they returned. At the barber's, grandpa would have his short hair cleaned up and then he would call Danny over to the chair. Until Danny had grown tall enough, the booster board would be put across the arms of the huge chair and Danny would climb up onto it. Danny's hair would be shorn very short on the sides, and scissored very short on top, with his bangs barely half an inch long. As a little boy, Danny didn't mind, many of his pals had similar cuts. When Danny reached 6th grade, his grandpa would tell the barber that Danny could have it a little longer on top with a bit of a part on the side. Danny was thrilled that his grandpa thought he was growing up. But nothing stays the same and later that year, Danny's parents made he decision to move out to the suburbs, after a series of teachers' strikes and reduced funding for city schools. Suddenly, Danny was in a new world. His dad now had a longer commute and his mother became busy with new friends, PTA and other suburban activities and so, responsibility for his haircuts fell to Danny himself. Danny noticed that most of the guys at his new school had longer hair, as was the style at the time, so Danny started going for a longer time between cuts and growing his hair longer. When the family gathered with his grandparents, his grandpa mildly expressed his dislike of Danny's hair and that of his cousins who had also made the move to the suburbs.
The years flew by and Danny had graduated from college and was working in the city. He quickly determined that commuting from ‘the burbs' was not for him. Eventually, he found an apartment in his old neighborhood, now becoming ‘gentrified.’ This pleased him greatly because he would be near his grandparents. He looked forward to going to ball games with his grandpa and getting some delicious home cooked meals from his grandmother. They were only in their 60s and in very good health.
One Saturday, after a trip to the gym, Danny stopped by his grandparents' house. "Tot," his grandfather exclaimed, "come, sit. Esther, our grandson is here, come feed him." Before he could demur, he heard his grandma bustling about in the kitchen. His grandfather "took tea" with him while Danny ate.
Danny was about to say his goodbyes when his grandfather said to him, "come Tot, I am taking a haircut. Old Max would love to see you." Danny, always happy to spend a bit more time with his grandpa smiled and went along. When they arrived, Max the barber made a fuss over Danny, offered him tea or coffee, and then got down to the business of cutting grandpa's hair. Danny was amused and a bit nostalgic as he watched a familiar ritual from his youth.
When the haircut was finished, Max looked hopefully toward Danny. But Danny was already headed toward the exit, explaining that he had ‘plans’ and had to go. His grandfather told him to wait, and he would ‘walk him to the corner,’ grandpa's way of saying, "I haven't finished with you yet."
"So what are these plans, so important that you could not make Max's day by sitting in his chair?"
"I'm sorry grandpa, I just ‘took’ a haircut two days ago and I didn't want Max messing it up?"
"Oh, so you think my hair is ‘messed up?’"
Danny’s face visibly reddened. "No, he stammered. It's just that…."
"Oh, I think I understand Tot. You run along to ‘your plans.’ His grandfather said and turned around to walk toward his home.
In the weeks that followed, Danny would wake up in the middle of the night thinking of his grandfather's words. Every morning, as he styled his hair, he would remember how simple life had been when he was a kid. Finally, he made a decision.
The next Saturday, he called his grandfather and said, "I'm taking a haircut at Max's. I'd be grateful if you came and made sure he does it right."
The two men arrived together and walked inside. His grandfather went immediately to the chair for his usual cut. Danny self consciously ran his fingers through his think black hair. His forelock was well over six inches long and the sides covered his ears in a n executive style. soon as Max had dusted down the chair, Danny stepped up and sat down. After the cape had been applied, Danny looked in the mirror toward Max. "Max, I want to do something different. All this hair is a bother at the gym and just takes too long in the mornings. Do you remember how you used to cut my hair when I was little? He pulled down his forelock, saying this was mostly gone, my hair was nice and short."
Max replied, "well, if you are sure," but seeing te smile on Danny's grandfather's face, he knew. Max turned to the counter, chose the clippers, snapped on a small guard and turned to the back of Danny's head. Danny suddenly felt his stomach flip flop. As he felt the clippers run up the back of his head. He thought he could hear the hair ‘plop' as it hit the floor. He felt Max make run after run up the back of his head. Next Max was tilting his head, fold his ear and began replacing the thick locks with stubble. When both sides had been decimated, Danny looked in the mirror and wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as he saw how absurd he looked with long hair on top and nearly nothing on the sides.
Max wet the top down and combed it all forward, the tips reaching Danny's nose. He took his shears and snipped the hair off, first to mid-forehead and then to the half inch length Danny remembered. Then he went to work, clipper over comb, taking all the length on top down until Danny's thick dark hair was once again in the boyish crop he had worn until his 12h birthday. Max cleaned up the edges with shaving cream and a well-stropped razor. He rubbed some wax all over Danny's head until the hair glistened.
As he stepped down from the chair and paid Max, his grandfather said loudly, OK Max, Tot and I will see you in three weeks. Danny tried to hide his shock. He had meant this as a one off and had even discussed with his regular stylist how they would grow his hair out with regular trims. But as he left the barber shop, his grandfather put his hand on Danny's shoulder and said, "it's good to have you back, Tot," Danny knew his long haired day were over.
