Calm and reason appear to have returned to the isolated corners
of America. At least they have in the corner that I am visiting.
I am strolling North Oakland, California watching people drink
coffee, eat ice cream cones and chat about the weather. Any anxiety over the
country having elected a president suffering from HPD (Histrionic Personality
Disorder) certainly is not evident.
Much wailing and gnashing of teeth continues in places like
Washington and New York, but this is California. Surf is up, sun is out and
life rolls along through good times or catastrophes.
I step into a short, cramped pedestrian walk named Temescal
Alley, which originally housed stables for the horses that drew wagons through
the tunnel connecting the San Francisco Bay area with the country east of the
mountains.
Temescal Alley has been reborn. The stable doors have been
replaced by artsy doorways into boutiques where shop owners not only sell, but
craft on site their jewellery and other goods.
Inside the Temescal Alley Barber Shop I find a slice of what
I grew up understanding was the real America.
It is a small shop with six chairs, antique style with cast
metal foot rests, white porcelain trim and black leather seats and backs. Guys
wearing gray-striped barber’s drapes occupy the chairs, getting haircuts, a
straight razor shave or beard trim.
Two small dogs sleep in a basket in corner. One of them wears
a knitted doggie blanket coat featuring Frosty the Snowman.
The shelf above the dog bed holds a whiskey flask and shot glasses
for any customer wishing to enjoy a free shot while waiting for an empty chair.
(During Prohibition, people wanting an illegal drink in San Francisco usually
could find one in a barbershop).
The waits can be long here. There are no appointments. You
just walk in and add your name to the list on a chalkboard by the door. When
the place gets busy and seating room is limited you can sit outside on a bench
in the alleyway and sip a whiskey and chat with others.
Few customers mind the waits. If you do mind, you should find
a quick clip place where your hair is buzzed into shape in 10 minutes.
This place hums with
conversations covering everything from kids to Golden State Warriors’ basketball.
Everything, it seems, except the election of Donald Trump, now to be known as
vulgarian-in-chief.
It is a flashback to an earlier America when barbershops were
gathering places where community news and gossip were exchanged. When life was
slower and there was time to think, discuss and exchange information in more
than140-word bursts.
Past does meet the present here. The antique shop look is
broken by modern Douglas Fir trim and a large skylight with frosted sliding
panels. And, most of the barbers – four male, two female – sport tattoos.
The barbershop was opened five years ago by two guys seeking
a return to old-style craftsmanship.
Craftsmanship is evident. The barbers take their time with scissors
and razors, giving their customers a cleanly sculpted look. Hairlines are
shaped with shaving cream and razors. Haircuts usually take 25 to 30 minutes to
complete.
Customers pay for the old-style ambience and the close
attention to their grooming. A haircut is $30. A straight-razor shave is $35 and a beard trim
$15. No credit or debit cards. Cash only.
The barbershop and other little shops of Temescal Alley are
born of the individualism so characteristic of California. Individualism that
made it a leader in the entertainment and high tech industries, among other
things.
It is an individualism that creates new ideas, new things and
cultural changes, many of which usually come our way. Individualism carries
Californians through droughts, wildfires and earthquakes. It will carry them
through the political earthquake of the 2016 presidential election.
This is Thanksgiving Week in the USA. Friday is Black Friday,
the day when millions lay their credit cards on the altars of consumerism.
For some Californians, however, it is Green Friday, and environmental
groups have arranged free day passes to 116 state parks.
Green Friday. A day in the woods instead of the malls. Another
cool idea.
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