Rose Waiting at the Royal Barber Shop as her Husband Gets a Haircut

I was strolling by this old barber shop,

The Royal

on Victory in North Hollywood,

and looked in the old window and saw

her sitting there in her blue & white dress

and pearls. I walked in, surprising this trio:

Rose, Herbert and the barber, who regarded me

with thinly veiled contempt for this

intrusion,

but I couldn't pass

knowing I'd regret it

so I quietly asked her if I could take her photo.

She looked bewildered, and said nothing. Then she

looked towards Herbert, who

was in mid-haircut. She asked him if it was

okay, and he said, "Yeah, I guess so," maybe

reasoning that if they were just nice to me,

I would take the photo and

leave them alone. So take the photo I did,

with Herbert in his barber-chair

visible in the mirror behind Rose

there in a scene that could

have been from any

time in the mid-20th century

back when men went to

barbers, and wore hats,

and didn't go to hair stylists

and didn't have cell-phones

or computers

or the internet

or cable TV

or satellite radio

here

in the heart

of anytown,

America.

 

Done