Lawrence's new look by Manny

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Lawrence took advantage of his regular stylist’s vacation to try out a new place, closer to home, for his regular trim. He was tired of the price hikes that seemed to come with increasing regularity at the salon -- that and the expectation of how much he should tip.

He remembered the time when a 10% tip was standard, and the stylist delighted to receive it. Over the years, the percentage had drifted up to 15%, then 20%, and almost become built into the cost.

The tipping point for Lawrence came when a little sign on the receptionist’s desk noted, "Our favorite clients tip 25%."

Of all the nerve!!

The little barber shop in the plaza near his house had quite the opposite message: "Reduced rates for seniors, military and emergency responders" and "Buzzcuts, just $10"

And, while he fit none of those categories, Lawrence appreciated the idea of giving back to the community instead of trying to suck more out of the clients.

He also noted that the shop stayed open late on Thursdays. He could easily make it in for a trim before 7 p.m.

At 6:30 on Thursday, Lawrence found himself pushing the door of The Old Dawg Barber Shop open and stepping into the rather harsh glow of neon.

He smiled approvingly at the motto on the front door -- Cleanliness, Consistency and Quality since 1959 -- as he entered.

Inside, it was apparent that little had changed since the shop’s inauguration. The long rectangular space was tiled in a large checkerboard linoleum pattern of bold white and red. To the left were four traditional barber chairs upholstered in red leather with enamel bases and chrome trim. Red leather also featured on the ornate foot rests which provided support when the chairs were laid back for shaves.

To the right was a row of black chairs with minimal cushioning which served as a waiting area. They backed up to faux-wood paneling. No doubt, the shop had been the cat’s meow in its day, but now looked very dated. The obsolete clunky TV was off. Lawrence’s guess was that it no longer worked and was simply gathering dust.

The shop was eerily quiet. Only one barber was at work, trimming the hair of another middle-aged man. Just the hum of clippers disturbed the peace.

Lawrence greeted the barber and took a seat in the waiting area. He crossed his leg -- a bit of a nervous habit. Perhaps visiting a barber shop instead of his normal salon was a mistake, he thought to himself.

But the businessman getting trimmed looked fine.

Within a few moments, another barber appeared from the back room.

"Oh, sorry, I hope you haven’t been waiting long," the barber said with a bit of a foreign accent.

He looked professional in a royal blue tunic with short sleeves and his name, Gerhard, embroidered on the chest pocket. The barber was on the hefty side with strong, beefy arms and a belly that poked to the limit of his tunic. Gerhard had an advanced case of MPB. Only a bit of closely clipped graying hair wrapped around the sides and back of his head.

The porty barber smiled in a fake, pro-forma way and pointed to the chair nearest the window. All the chairs in the shop face away from the mirror, something Lawrence felt uneasy about. There would be no monitoring progress or fussing to get the trim "just right".

"Over there for your haircut," he said stiffly.

Lawrence felt a bit of a sinking sensation in his stomach. His first impression of Gerhard was not good.

Just go through with it, he told himself.

He eased into the chair, still feeling uncomfortable about not having a view of his hair getting cut.

"Any special instructions?" Gerhard asked as he cast a large white cape with faint red pinstripes. It billowed through the air and fluttered slowly into place, shielding Lawrence’s dress shirt and tie.

"Just a trim," said Lawrence quickly. "A bit of shaping up, that’s all."

"Yes, yes," Gerhard replied.

Was the barber’s tone a bit dismissive? Lawrence couldn’t tell. Perhaps, because English was clearly not his first language, he may have come across as a bit crabby.

Gerhard brushed Lawrence’s executive coif straight back. The thick, dark wavy hair was full and lightly overlapped his ears and collar. The shiny coif had always given Lawrence a bit of self-confidence…especially considering men like Gerhard who were afflicted with severe MPB. Poor fellows, he would think to himself as he pawed at his healthy mane.

Surprisingly, the barber’s touch was gentle and soothing.

"Over the ear or tapered around it?" the barber asked.

"Oh, off the ear," Lawrence clarified. "I guess it’s gotten longer than normal between cuts."

The next thing Lawrence felt was the barber gripping his head firmly and forcing it down. He wasn’t used to having to bow his head for his salon trims.

But, the barber had years of experience, and his client’s slight resistance was quickly overcome.

Lawrence was staring at the cape when he heard a click and humming sound. Clippers!! Oh, no….

He was just about to say, "no clippers, please" when a jolt pulsated through his body.

Gerhard took the clippers quickly up through the nape. The machine’s naked teeth created a wonderful vibration in the sensitive area. The whole maneuver was quick and startling. Lawrence could tell Gerhard had scooped off a sizeable chunk in his initial blitzkrieg. He pictured a clump of his lush mane -- just an inch or so up from the hairline -- falling to Gerhard’s feet.

The first clipper action was quickly followed with a second and third.

Lawrence felt woozy. He clutched the armrests underneath the cape. This was not the trim he had expected.

"First time here?" Gerhard asked casually as he continued working the back with the electric clippers.

The clipper’s metal teeth were no longer cutting right at the scalp, and Lawrence relaxed a bit.

"Yes, my normal place….well, the….uh, barber….is on holiday. I live pretty close by, so I thought I would give The Old Dawg a try. Are you the Old Dawg himself?" Lawrence asked, chuckling.

"Me? No! I was a barber in Berlin when this place opened. Came here after my parents died in the 1990s," Gerhard explained.

The haircut continued in silence. The hum of clippers and the occasional clack of shears at the other chair were all that was heard.

As Gerhard began tapering around the ears, soft clumps of dark hair began accumulating on the cape. The cut locks were about an inch in length and had a nice, natural curl to them. Certainly, Lawrence would leave with much shorter hair than normal, but not extremely so.

Lawrence watched the other client pay and prepare to leave the shop. He got a nice business cut -- a fairly short taper around the ears and at the nape. Lawrence imagined his own hair might look similar when the haircut was over. Certainly, it would be a change -- much shorter...but nothing drastic.

"Now, what about the top?" Gerhard asked. "It’s fairly long and full."

"What do you suggest?" Lawrence asked, surprising himself that he was abandoning his cautious approach somewhat.

"Maybe a bit more off the top than I took off the sides, and perhaps it needs to be thinned a bit so it isn’t so puffy," Gerhard suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Lawrence agreed.

The barber wet the top of Lawrence’s head with a spritzer and then combed his wavy hair straight down. The wet clumps of the bulky fringe fell over Lawrence’s eyes.

SNIP, SNIP, SNIP.

Off came two inches off the bangs -- well above his eyebrows!!

Lawrence felt his stomach lurch, then churn. He stared in disbelief at the clumps of wet hair in his lap. OMG! His bangs were never cut above the eyebrows. And the shears were at least half-way up!

Gerhard began pulling up the uncut mane on top with his comb, sectioning it with his fingers and shearing off two inches from the whole area. LOTS of cut wet hair cluttered the cape.

This was followed by a prolonged thinning session.

SNIP, SNIP, SNIP. COMB, COMB, COMB. Repeat. Repeat.

Finally, Lawrence got the courage to eke out, "I think you’ve thinned it out plenty."

Gerhard instantly stopped. He got the message and quickly tided up with a few finishing touches.

Curiously, the barber gave Lawrence a side part! His customary exec coif was always brushed straight back without a part.

When the chair was turned slowly around to signal the end of the haircut, Lawrence got the first look at his haircut. It looked so short! Much shorter than he expected. The waves had all been thinned away and it was almost plastered to his scalp with the awkward side part.

Lawrence gulped and nodded his assent silently.

Then, Gerhard held up a hand-mirror to show off the back.

The short taper at the nape was accented by a ribbon of white skin beneath the hairline but well above the collar! Again, it was much shorter than he anticipated. Lawrence felt his stomach churn looking at the shorn back.

"Yes, very nice," Lawrence found himself saying, just to get out of the chair.

"I can put some more product on it, if you’d like. A bit more of a shiny, finished look -- like you’ve just come from the barber shop," Gerhard offered.

"No, this is fine, really," Lawrence replied firmly. Then, to soften his tone, he added, "I like it just the way it is."

"I’m glad," Gerhard replied. "Perhaps you’ll become a regular here."

"Yes, perhaps I will," said Lawrence as he watched the cape being carefully removed.

He felt relieved to be released from his time in the chair under Gerhard’s command.

The barber shook the cape away from the chair, and all the cut locks fell to the red and white checked floor.

As he stood, Lawrence stared a bit aghast at how much had piled up at the barber’s feet.

"Next time, don’t wait so long and I won’t have to cut off so much," Gerhard said, a bit defensively.

Lawrence examined himself a bit in the mirror as the barber made change for his twenty. The side part was different, but a nice change. And the taper around the ears gave him a very clean look. Plus, Lawrence decided the barber had been right to thin out the top like he had. The puffy bouffant was certainly a thing of the past Lawrence concluded as he thanked the barber and headed out the door.

Once outside, he touched his clipped nape for the first time. Lawrence LOVED the feel!! He couldn’t get enough of the bristles. He was only sorry the taper was so low! He remembered the jolt he received with the chattering metal teeth on his sensitive nape. Next time…. Yes, there would be a next time!!

Once home, Lawrence rushed into the bathroom and snapped on the light above the mirror. Oh, he looked so different! What he really wanted to examine more closely, though, was the back. The short bristles were in a very tight wedge! He loved the clipped length of the tidy taper.


Next time, he would ask Gerhard to cut it even shorter, clipped tighter and higher up the back. Just thinking about telling the barber to go shorter excited Lawrence. And he would agree to the pomade for a very barbered look! A rigid side part….

The shorter crop was noticed at work and drew fairly positive reviews. Lawrence explained that he had it with the salon raising its prices so much….and the infernal nagging about higher tips. One of his colleagues heartily agreed and asked where the new place was.

Lawrence was happy to recommend The Old Dawg and the German barber, Gerhard.

"But don’t think you’re going to leave his chair with that shag intact," Lawrence laughed.

"He’ll give me my money’s worth?" Cameron replied cheerfully. "Take me with you next time you go!"

Now, Lawrence had a reason to return rather soon to Gerhard and the Old Dawg Barber Shop -- his friend’s need of a haircut.

Less than two weeks later, Lawrence mentioned to Cameron, "How about Saturday? You’re looking very shaggy!"

Cameron smiled sheepishly and ran his fingers through his silken mane. He had thick, sandy-blond hair that was forever in his face and well over the base of his collar in back. It was very nice hair, but was desperately needing to be cut.

"You want me barbered!" Cameron smirked.

Then he pulled his hair back and fashioned a small pony tail. The base was thick as a bat handle.

"It’s almost long enough for a tail! But, sure, Saturday works for me. Are you just taking me or will you be getting a haircut too?" Cameron asked.

"I think I’m going to get my taper tidied up a bit," Lawrence said, trying to come across as nonchalant.

Then, he gave Cameron the address of the Old Dawg Barber Shop. "Say, we meet there around 11 for haircuts and then go out for lunch afterwards?"

"Perfect!" exclaimed Cameron. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Can’t wait to be rid of this. Most of it is coming off!"

He grinned with anticipation about his impending transformation.


Saturday morning, Cameron was already outside the shop when Lawrence arrived.

"It’s hopping busy in there," he noted.

Lawrence peered in. Yep, all four barber chairs were occupied. Gerhard was closest to the window. He saw Lawrence, smiled broadly and gave a quick wave.

Lawrence felt almost giddy. Pretty soon the clippers would be climbing tighter and higher up the back of his head. He felt his tapered nape. It was still fairly sharp, although not as much as when it had first been cut.

"Look at that!" Cameron stammered, pointing to a promotional sign in the window. "Buzzcuts are only $10. That’s what I’m getting."

"Whoa! So short? We do work in an office," Lawrence argued.

"Hey, I just got promoted and the long hair was no obstacle. Why should short hair be any different?" Cameron asked. "Besides, I’ve always wanted to undergo a dramatic transformation. One minute, flowing locks and the next just stubble! Watching all this hair fall to the cape. Will you video me getting the makeover, Lawrence?"

"Sure!" his pal replied. "Now, let’s get in the line."

The two men pushed the door of the shop open. Gerhard greeted them.

"I brought a friend from work who is tired of his long hair," Lawrence said with a smile on his face. "The haircut you gave me, Gerhard, was greatly admired in the office."

Lawrence and Cameron found two chairs in the waiting area near the back of the shop. From there, Lawrence was able to see the service area where the barbers hung out when they didn’t have clients. A huge pile of cut hair was swept up against the large gray plastic trashcan. It had obviously been a busy morning. Once Cameron’s locks were added to the pile, it would be enormous.

Lawrence felt his nape. He couldn’t wait to have the clippers pressed tightly to his skin. He’d already decided what he would say to Gerhard. "Shorter in back than last time, tapered closer and higher up."

The two friends watched a parade of other men be called to the chair, get caped up, submit to the clippers, get dusted and uncaped, exit the chair, and pay.

It almost took them by surprised when one of the other barbers pointed to Lawrence and Cameron and asked, "Which of you is next? Chair’s waiting."

Lawrence told Cameron to go as he hoped to snag Gerhard.

"Sure, but can you video my makeover or at least a part of it?" Cameron asked.

On his way to the chair, Cameron ran his fingers through his long hair one final time and flashed a big smile in the mirror. Lawrence was already recording the big event on his phone.

"You really only charge $10 for buzzcuts?" Cameron asked the barber as the cape was fastened. "How can you make any profit?"

"I can assure you, it will take less than five minutes and almost no skill," the barber laughed. "An easy ten bucks for me. Plus, in a case like yours, it’s a pleasure to push the clippers across the scalp and watch it all fall. You might ask why I’m not paying you $10 for the fun of administering a dramatic transformation."


"You’ll have your fun, for sure, because I want a buzzcut!" Cameron announced. "Take me down to the wood!"

"A #1 all over? That would be a very short 1/8 of an inch. Or, we could go with a #2 -- a quarter inch," the barber suggested as he fastened the striped cape inn place.

"You decide," said Cameron.

The barber picked up a big set of Oster clippers and snapped them on. "This baby has a #2 blade on it. Are you ready?"

Lawrence came closer to record the event.

The metal teeth were driven straight down the top of Cameron’s head. Sheaves of blond fell in dramatic cascades. Over and over the barber worked to clear the top of Cameron’s head.

Cameron reached out from under the cape and grasped a handful of cut hair.

"Good riddance," he laughed as he tossed the wad of hair at Lawrence.

Lawrence panned the camera to the floor where the cut lock had fallen.

"How am I looking?" Cameron asked.

"Bald!" Lawrence crowed. "Like a little boy with a ‘beginning of summmer’ baldy cut!"

"You’re looking like a man!" the barber said in a bit of a correcting tone.

Lawrence noticed that Gerhard was finishing up on his client. He quickly wrapped up his videoing session with Cameron and headed over to the chair near the window.

"I didn’t expect you back so soon," Gerhard noted as he cast the cape.

Lawrence squirmed a bit in the chair. A slight case of last-minute cold feet? Or, was it excitement?!

"Well, I liked the haircut, but thought perhaps it could be a bit shorter. Especially in back here," Lawrence said, as he indicated by brushing against the sharp bristles at the nape and just above. "Tapered closer here and a bit higher up the back."

His hand savored the crisp stimulation of the bristled wedge at his nape.

"And to think I was worried that I had cut it too short on your first visit," remarked Gerhard. "I won’t make that mistake again. No sir!"

The barber’s declaration made Lawrence swoon at the thought of a good scalping.

"And what about the length on top?" Gerhard asked. "Perhaps take it shorter, as well, for an overall tidier length? What do you say?"

"You’re the expert, Gerhard," Lawrence replied coyly. "He dreamed of a good shearing -- to leave the shop looking very barbered!"

Lawrence bowed his head, eagerly. He couldn’t wait to feel the clippers at his nape again.

Gerhard forced Lawrence’s head forward, even though he had already been bowed. Perhaps, it was out of habit, or perhaps to communicate that the barber wielding the clippers was in full control of the situation.

Gerhard fired up the clippers and was quick to drive them up through the nape, and then higher, peeling away the lush padding that had covered the back of Lawrence’s head. The metal teeth pressed closely against the scalp a third of the way up before easing gradually away for the rest of their trip up through the crown.

"Nice and tidy," Gerhard proclaimed as he continued tapering the back, "Just like when I was a military barber."

"A military barber!" Lawrence exclaimed.

"That’s right," Gerhard said. "I worked on one of the American bases in Germany and kept all the officers very tidy. Crisp, rigid, sparse…no hippy hair, even though mops were in style. My service on the base was how I qualified for legal immigration to this country."

Gerhard began tapering around the ears. From the clumps that fell to the cape, Lawrence figured a fair amount was coming off. And it had already been so short! The vibration close to his ear felt divine.

Just then, Cameron ambled over.

"What do you think? My new butch!" he enthused, rubbing his clipped pate. "Just $10 dollars!"

"Wow, I hardly recognized you," Lawrence remarked.

"And you may not recognize yourself, either," Cameron said cryptically. "Did you ask for whitewalls?"

Lawrence squirmed in the chair.

Cameron continued, "It’s quite short, you know."

"Yes, that’s what I requested," Lawrence said tersely to cut off the unwelcomed commentary.

"Such a change from Mr. Salon Coif Executive!" Cameron continued in a slightly mocking tone.

"I ditched the salon, and I ditched the coif!" Lawrence replied forcefully. "Gerhard here is my new go-to barber. He was just telling me about the military cuts he gave the American officers in Germany before immigrating. One of these days, I just might get one myself!"

Gerhard beamed!

"You have the perfect hair -- thick and full of body -- for any of the military crops!" he exclaimed. "A strong hairline with no receding for a commanding flattop. That’s what I would recommend."

The mention of a flattop made Lawrence jolt in the chair. He imagined himself walking out of the shop that very morning with his top, flat as a board.

By this time, Gerhard was finishing off the other ear. His attention was turning to Lawrence’s top.

He brushed the locks straight up, pulled them back, and then to the side.

"Did we decide how much is coming off the top?" Gerhard asked, hoping Lawrence might nibble at the flattop suggestion.

Then, he remembered!

"Or, do I recall you leaving it up to me, saying I was ‘the expert’ when he came to what would look best," Gerhard said with a glint in his twinkling blue eyes.

"Oh, I’m not sure I’m ready for a flattop!" Lawrence gasped.

"I think he is," Cameron laughed from the sidelines.

"What other suggestion might you make?" Lawrence pressed.

"You’ve got 3-4 inches on top," said Gerhard. "Let’s take half of it off…just long enough to lay to the side. How about it? Clipper-over-comb, taking off the length. Or, what about a bit shorter -- a classic crewcut -- crisp enough to given any colonel a run for his money."

Lawrence gripped the armrests beneath the cape. How he wanted to say yes to the crewcut!!

"You can always ‘upgrade’ to the flattop as I’m cutting or even after I’ve finished," Gerhard remarked.

"Okay," Lawrence replied, leaving things a bit ambiguous. He knew that Gerhard would seize the moment.

The first thing he did was tackle the longest part, Lawrence’s forelock. With a comb, he lifted it away from the cape and took the clippers to it.

ZIP!

The clipper teeth sailed across the plastic comb.

A clump over two inches long fell to the cape.

Lawrence felt his groin stare as he studied the oversized clump of hair.

"No more stylish pomp," Cameron wise-cracked from the waiting area.

"Are you going for the crewcut?" Lawrence asked the barber in an anxious tone.

"Yep!" Gerhard replied. "Everything clipped down to a tidy brush except the remnant of your bangs. Half an inch longer at the hairline to be able to push it to the side, just a tad."

Lawrence liked the description even though it seemed frightfully short.

Gerhard’s skill in pursuing the clipper-over-comb was amazing. Hair rained down in showers all around. Shorter and shorter and shorter he took the top down.

"Now, to thin out this last little clump in front," Gerhard announced.

Despite it being quite small, Gerhard unleashed the full force of a thorough thinning session whittling it away to a few wisps. And, even this sparse remnant was, in the end, snipped of quite short.

Before he knew it, Lawrence was preparing for the big reveal. The cape was full of cut hair. Cameron was laughing and pointing as the chair swiveled.

Then, he saw himself! Shorn down to an extremely short crewcut. The sides almost bare. Just a hint of bangs.

Gerhard grinned and demanded, "Well, do you like it, Mr. Colonel?"

"Like it?" gasped Lawrence, trying to formulate a response.
After what seemed like an eternity, Lawrence blurted out, "I love it!"

"No flattop this time?" Cameron asked.

Lawrence squirmed beneath the cape. How he wanted to say yes to the flattop!

But, Gerhard made the decision. "Next time, the flattop. For now, enjoy the crewcut."

Without waiting for any confirmation, Gerhard gave a thorough dusting, unfastened the cape and motioned Lawrence towards the cash register.

The few steps gave Lawrence ample time to feel his new length.

As the two were exiting the shop, they crossed paths with an extremely handsome, burly mane sporting am immaculate horseshoe flattop.

"Excuse me," Lawrence said to him. "Which barber cuts your hair? That shoe is amazing!"

"Gerhard," the man replied. "Got it yesterday, but forgot my wallet in the shop. Just coming back to retrieve it."

"I think I can picture your next haircut at The Old Dawg Barber Shop," Cameron said with a chuckle.

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