Zero Political Talk at the Barbershop
I finally broke down and went to my barbershop yesterday to get a haircut and beard trim after four months. I probably should do it more often, and always get a ration of crap from the barber, who always threatens to charge me triple for all the work. Always, because I tend to avoid haircuts and often wait three or four months.
As usual, this one-chair shop had people waiting for their turn. I was the fifth in line when I walked in the door. Buncha old geezers in there, as usual. With the inauguration happening in less than 24 hours, I was anticipating some talk about politics, which is a common subject in that place.
To my surprise, not one person mentioned Trump or the inauguration. Politics appeared to be off the table for the day. Instead, there was just the usual mildly insulting banter among men who don't actually know each other. The weather was a topic. I mentioned my new furnace, which started a roundtable discussion on the cost of such things and the comparative merits of different brands. A new antique store across the street came up. The consensus was that it would probably be shuttered within six months. As I waited, some new person would come in as the current patron was finished. Still no politics entered into the discussion.
It was somehow refreshing to discover that a random group of old guys didn't bring up Trump or the inauguration. It looks like nobody really wants to talk about it.
Finally, my turn in the chair came up. I took my share of comments about "mountain men" and "Minnesota Moses" in stride. When I was done, one fellow old fart allowed as how my wife would probably not recognize me when I got home.
But, no political discussion at all. I think that's a first for me in that particular barbershop. I'm not sure what it means, but nobody was in the mood to talk about that subject yesterday. That was just fine with me.
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