Excuse Me? You do what?

A couple days ago I saw a patient in for a 6 month f/u on diabetes and vision. Seems he is a veteran who lost most of his sight during the end of the Vietnam War due to injury. He is entirely blind in his left eye, and his right eye while having major acuity problems, is perpetually turned inward because his extra-ocular muscle were severed by trauma and unrepairable. We get to talking and I am asking about his life, family, and job when he blindsides me with this: He is the town barber! The man has almost no vision, has to turn his head way to the right to be able to see his hands when he's working, but he has been cutting the men's hair in Forks for the last 25 years. Needless to say I was a little stunned, and mentioned it to the doctor I was working with. His response was, "Yeah, me and my boys all get our haircuts there, he does a really good job. You should have him cut yours." What did I say? "Okay"

(Before you start to think I was just asking for trouble let me explain something to you about me and my hair. We have a hate/hate relationship. In fact, my body hates my hair so much it's starting to banish it from my head starting near my brow-line (although advances have been made into the enemy territory at the crown as well). Now it just grows thick on the sides, into a kinda football shaped orb. Think Jack Black with a head like Stewie Griffin from Family Guy (probably not gonna get to many job offers with a melon like that). So when someone mentions cutting my hair, even if that guy cuts hair like Gallagher makes fruit salad, I am gonna do it)

Today my preceptor was off, so I figured, "Why not today?". I show up at the Barber Shoppe around noon, and see a sign posted on the door saying "Go to Bait Shop" Turns out that all the shops along this street are Mom&Pop stores and they don't get much business, so they spend most of their time in the center store which is a fishing tackle repair shop. I poke my head in when I hear the noise and the barber instantly sees me since he's looking that way (what are the chances?). Once in the shop, he sits me down and starts cutting my hair, quite speedily too. Sure enough, the guy is BOMB-DIGGITY! As the noon rush hits, a line forms that goes out the door. Just local guys needing their hair cut and wanting to get it done over lunch. I think, "There's no way he is gonna get all of us finished before they need to get back", but 5 minutes later he boots me out the door. One look in the mirror and I knew how this guy had survived 25years as a blind barber. He was the Jesus of barbers, healing bad haircuts for the masses, raising the combover from the dead. For once both myself and my hair called a cease-fire. The kicker: it only cost me 6 bucks! I can get three haircuts there for the cost of one Supercuts trim. Hell, it's almost cost efficient for me to drive up from Tacoma to get my hair cut in Forks. I thanked him, told him I would be back before my rotation was over and that I would try and bring more hair if he tried to bring me a lower fasting glucose.