Just Mugs and Just a Barber? Not!

This is my barber, Bill Carpenter, here in Bend, Oregon. His shop is called "Just a Barber". It's just a little misleading, the name of his barber shop. He's a lot more than just a barber, though he doesn't want you to think that–he's pretty modest. You see, not only is Bill the kind of barber who knows everyone and can talk about almost any topic with some authority, but he and I have a little secret that I'm about to share with you.

He gets mugs from me.

And every 6 weeks or so when I go in, both for a good conversation and a trim, I see these mugs and I think about how dang cool that is.

We typically have far ranging discussions as he is doing his work to make me look less shaggy. For instance, today we talked about the following things over 25 minutes: bicycle racing, baseball, local fall elections, Christianity, Buddhism, the dynamics of person-to-person versus group-to-group relations, psilocybin, Hawaii, oversized hail, riding bikes on the old McKenzie Highway, swimming versus walking the butte, personal responsibility, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. During that time he had two phone calls and one walk-in for appointments. All the while he's working on the old mop-top.

Each fall he usually asks me to make him some personalized logo mugs to give to his clients at Christmas. Last year he wanted shave mugs made. They were a big hit, he tells me.

Can't put it into words, how great Bill is, really. You know, your hair grows, you need it cut, that's universal. I think Bill's artistry is the fact that even though our town is big, it feels like a small town when you enter his shop, and it feels like a small town long after you've left it.