On The Fringe

Saturday morning is always busy. I passed over the indigo girls last night. I can’t do friday night’s knowing i have to do be smiling in the morning. My eleven oclock, Maria cancels, she isint feeling well. Shit. I marked off an hour and a half of my time, now what? Sitting at the front desk looking at the sun knowing it wont be shining much longer, a long haired women walks by and I smile.I know she’s digging the sun, she looked up, and caught my brownie smile. She turned on her heel as if I had called her name. She walked in and asked if there was time to do her hair? I would love to do your hair! My hour was filled and a new client who was thrilled to be treated with kindness paid the light bill.

Melinda came in earlier today because of the snow storm warning. She has been a client for years, so she didn’t mind leaving work a little earlier than usual  for me to manage her Joan of Ark haircut. “This time I want to wear my hair a little longer “she requested, it has been so cold this winter I would like to have a little fur on my head, until spring. I began the haircut and she shyly told me she was in love. Melinda is three years out of a marriage and desperately wanted a kid. She gave it a whirl herself but it didn’t happen, I think lately she was feeling defeated. She has been in love before but for whatever reason things didn’t work out.” Where did you meet him I inquired? Plenty of fish, an on line dating service  that I had given up on she told me.I hadn’t even checked in for a month and  unexpectedly there was a match message. I called him, we met, and a month later we are in love! I inquired more about him and she eagerly answered All of my questions.” He has a four year old little girl, he is a widower, his wife was struck down by a bus in the city, and this little girl was their only child. Something in my head clicked and I knew this was it for her. She is a kind and caring doctor who has been looking for a cure, and I think she just found her medicine.

Jeff was in the salon today. He reminds me of Harry Hamill, the gorgeous seventies actor who was in clash of the titans, the original of course. Two years prior, before the taking over of  television, he and his buddies would gather around a twenty inch black and white  television set with rabbit ears. He has the money to purchase a big screen state of the art over the top tellie, but he and his boys liked the idea of drinking good beer  and taking turns fooling around with the rabbit ears, trying to get the sharpest picture. Huddling together made them feel a part of the team I guess, and whoever got the screen a little more visible, was cheered at as if he ran the ball into the end zone! The beloved steelers are in the play offs again, and  my clients and Pittsburghers are dressed in there favorite football jerseys to cheer them to victory. God lord I hope they win.

It’s saturday, and for hairdressers it is the same as thank god it’s friday. You may not know this, because I do love my work, but I look forward to saturday . It’s a little more relaxed and a lot of my favorite clients seem to like this day too.Karen who made it in my book and has been a client for thirty years loves the Beatles more than any one else I know. She is the client who cut a picture of her face out of a photo and replaced a pouty mouth models with hers, to see how she looked in a new haircut. It was very funny to see Karen’s creamy white complexion with milk dud eyes, taking the place of Linda Evangalista’s good looks. She loved  singing  hey Jude back in the day, I wont say anything that I wouldnt say to her, but when she used to have a few beers it was hard to pull her away from the mike. She is going to be a little jealous about  my attending the Beatle show tomorrow. Hey judy judy judy judy yaow!!!!

Ok I admit it, I love the Beatles, I always wanted to be Paul. My young pals greedily grabbed for the tennis rackets as we shouted out our identities.The tennis rackets served as our guitars, and our hair was growing into the Beatle haircuts that had originaly been pixies. Think of Justin Beamer is that his name? I guess I loved hair even then, I was very concerned to have the “look” that the fab four brought to the USA! I inquired to clients about the recent Rain tour, how did they feel about actors acting like the Beatles? I never was able to see the Beatles, I was a few years short of being a teenager, but could this be my last chance? Clients continued to excuse my excitement, about this show because I am going! I’m not a person who indulges, and I have a tough time allowing myself to have fun but I think I  have talked my partner into coming together on this one!

If my salon was located in some suburban mall I would not have to worry about getting home, but as it looks from my window I wont be going anywhere. Snow is falling just in time for rush hour, so Sue k suggested I blog. As I have said before I have some of the most eccentric clients that seem to gravitate to this location.Today was no exception. Kris was here early in the morning and I hadn’t seen her for a few months, she has been in NewYork lighting the Billy Elliot show that has been running on broadway, and her hair looked as if it had been on the same tour. She usually keeps it cropped pretty short so I was surprised how long it had become. Kris is the associate lighting designer, and is back home to light up Mary Poppin’s show running in Pittsburgh. Her story today was short and sweet. She told me there are always two or three Billy Elliot’s due to child labor laws. She was amazed by the boys talent, and ability to focus for a very long time. They have to sing dance jump around on stage for hours. On one of her breaks she was walking outside, and noticed some kids on a playground, and she recognized one of the Billy Elliot’s. Sweet she thought, he was eight or nine and he was just being a kid. No stage mothers in sight as he flung himself on to a swing. I loved the image, the story was sweet. Thanks kris, with that new hair color I think I lit her up!

My salon is so cozy and warm on days like today. One of my favorite gals, asked if It was ok to watch as her partner had her hair done. Sure Sue, I replied, and before I could say cream or no cream, her workspace was set up. Computers on, tweeter is tweeting, coffee is being consumed, do you mind if I create an office space in your entry way? This cyberspace, savvy computer queen is going to text everyone she knows about HairPeace, unless she is knocked out of the way by an incoming client who is blind!  Susan, she reminded me, this dude was here the last time I was in the shop, and almost fell into my lap! You can read about james in the book I suggested. The day he gave a good yanking to the rod iron stand, full of Aveda humectants, instead of the door handle.

Friday was a crazy , busy day for the salon. I am training a new hairdresser. Robyn delighted in the idea of the industry, being influenced by a friend who was eager to do hair in london. Her friend left for europe and robyn stayed in moon township. She tired quickly of the Q-tips entering one by one in her new place of employment for shampoo and sets, and decided the business wasn’t for her. Friday she arrived with her model, I was doing my own client, so as she worked, my third eye was watching intently as her hands weaved there way through this mass of  long dark hair to be transformed into a hip layered bob.

Ok the book is finished, they are selling like hot cakes in the salon, but what happens after The last client has a copy? I asked my client paige yesterday how to promote this book . She teaches new age business tactics in one of the universities in the city, and is wicked smart about techno twitters and other marketing smart techniques to make noise. Her suggestion is to begin to blog about the salon on a daily basis, so you cyber space peeps are interested in me and my book. So, I will do my best to keep you all informed by  you guys and gals being the fly on the wall of the salon. What do you think?

Although, I must say, of all the cosmetology nightmares, my favorite horror story is that of Mary’s eyebrows.  It was the week we were learning about eyebrow shaping, facial hair removal, and of course, make-up styles of the 1930’s.  There were two classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  I was in the afternoon class that took me from school just before math, but somehow I wasn’t too upset. The students from the morning had mistakenly left the wax machine on, so it was practically boiling by the time we arrived.  When our eyebrow models showed up, the wax was hotter than any of us realized. Mary, our unfortunate student model, was about to have a once in a lifetime experience. The wax would remove her unwanted eyebrow hair without a problem, along with her hair follicle and a little skin as well.  The strip of muslin was dipped into the scorching wax and carefully placed on Mary’s already thin 1970’s style brow.  She cringed.  There was no turning back now.  Mary watched with a hand held mirror as the muslin was ripped from her brow.  With the strip, gone were the eyebrows forever.

I hadn’t realized how funny people looked without eyebrows until that day. They really are the frames for your eyes. Mary observed her new look with what I thought was utter astonishment…she seemed surprised, but how would we know?  After all, we’d just literally ripped the expression right off of her face.  She longingly searched for some hair, any hair, but there was none to be found. The wax had done its job a little too well. Eyebrows have a way of forecasting your emotions and, from that day on, I never could tell if she was scared, happy, or sad. I continue to this day to trim Mary’s bangs, and can be trusted never to forget the mistake we made so many years ago. They are never cut above her eyelids.