The Barbershop

I’m one of those guys who loves going to the barber. I love the smell, the sounds, the camaraderie. I love getting my beard trimmed, getting my hair cut close — I love straight blade shaves with warm shaving cream — and whatever tonic or balm happens to be on the shelf — Stephan’s Island Lime — or Pinaud’s Eau de Portugal.

This weekend I stopped in to my local barbershop — a small place just around the corner — to get my beard cleaned up. A great Saturday afternoon tradition.

All was the usual — the stories — the people — the smell — but at the end of the cut, as I stood up and reached for my wallet — my barber smiled and said “this one is on me.”

I can tell you — he knows I love the place. He knows I won’t go anywhere else — and that I’ll be back through that door next Saturday afternoon like clockwork. But he still did me a solid — and it makes me love the place even more.

In today’s world — where everything can feel outsized — impersonal — even frightening — personal generosity and giving someone the feeling of community and connection can make all the difference.

If you can — try to make someone today feel that soulful connection to their community and the town that they live in — it will be the greatest thing you do all week.