Hair Cut

As we grow older, we could feel that there are a lot changes to ourselves, from the type of meals we ate to fashion. When I was small I used to cut my hair at a place behind the flat that I stayed. The shop is a place that most of us look at it as a place that is fill with adventure. The path leading to it is full of grass that is as high as me, at that time I was around 5 feet tall. The place itself is a wooden shack; its walls and roof are made of wood.

It is advisable to go there on a sunny day. As the top looks like it has went through a hurricane. You could see lights of sunshine shinning in, creating an interesting array of shadows on the floor. There are times you could see that it has a life of itself, given by the greens that have engulfed it. As the winds blows, the leaf sways to a beat and it brought life to the shadows on the floor.

The grass on the outside itself is actually a sanctuary for frogs, lizards and snakes. There are times, I could see, lizards running around and occasionally snakes on the side wriggling its way to some holes. I am not sure why I went there to have my haircut. Maybe it’s the influence of my dad and some of my friends. The barber is a man in his forties. His hair itself is those that I called “high slope”. The back is “slope” up until you could see the flesh. The top remains with a handful of hairs.

Almost every one of us that walk away from the shop, share the same hairstyles as the barber. I guess it could be its trademark, like a stamp by its owner. We will also have white powder on our shoulder as it does not come with a wash, so normally the barber will slap some baby powder to dust off the hair that stuck around our neck and shoulder. I could still picture that old chair in the middle of the shack and the wooden box on the side which we will sit while waiting, reading magazine. Oh also there are those nice calendar with pretty and “expose” girls to look at.

I have stopped visiting the place when I reached secondary school. My mom took over as my barber and stylist. I kind of like it as it gives me the freedom of expressing my own style, there are times my mom manage to cut according to my “Specification” and also there are times not. It’s an adventure. I still remember when I was in form five; I have created one style that was quite interesting.

I am the type that goes against the norm and also the type that thinks that they are the fashion leaders. At that time the crowd are into a hairstyle that has a tail shape at the back. The surrounding hair was short but the tail is long, it’s like a Kite. So in one of those hair cut session I told my mom that I want to be different, so instead of having the tail at the back, I have it in front. My hair will be cut very short except for a few strands of hairs in front. I kept the style for almost a year, the few strands of hair grows until my chin, and it looks punky as I will comb it to the side when I was in school.

Those were the days, the era of punk. As I grow older and as my salary increases I went and have my hair cut in saloons. Sitting in a nice air condition place having my hair wash, listening to Kenny G at the background with a cup of tea served. I have just had my hair cut in a place called A Cut Above in Mid Valley. Somehow I still miss those shadows on the floor…..