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| How could Tom’s haircut be more fun? |
This morning at 10:00 am, as opposed to our usual 9:00 am, Estevan picked us up at our resort for our usual Wednesday shopping trip to Placencia Village. We’d changed the time to accommodate the local barbershop’s opening time of 10:00 am, as indicated on their sign on the side of the building.
Alas, we appeared on time to find it closed. Upon waiting for a few minutes, we decided to kill some time by checking out the fish market around the corner. Last week they were out of fish. The guy at the fish shop walked us over to the hut where the fisherman prepares his fish for sale.
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| No fresh fish from the fisherman today. |
Interested in grouper for me only (Tom doesn’t like fish) a few small packages would have been ideal. Unfortunately, all he had on hand was a frozen 3 1/2 pound clump of filleted grouper. Hoping for fresh, unfrozen fish which I’d cut into serving size pieces, to be frozen individually and used accordingly.
Usually, I’d eat no more than six or seven ounces in a meal. Defrosting it and refreezing it doesn’t appeal to me. At US $17.50 for the clump, it didn’t make sense to buy it, although the price per pound was very reasonable for this much-desired fish. We walked away empty handed with a plan to try again another day when they may have a fresh fish available.
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| Thrilled to see this sign we quickly made our way to the salon down a side street.
By this time it was 10:30 and the barbershop near the end of the peninsula had yet to open. With a plan to meet Estevan at the Top Value Supermarket at 11:30, we needed to move along. Our Minnesota friends had suggested a unisex salon further along our walk to the grocery shop. We kept an eye out for a sign.
As we approached the building, we were baffled as to the location of the entrance. We approached a young woman sitting on a plastic chair as to who we’d see to get a man’s haircut. She looked up, yelling out to a man about 100 feet away.
 It didn’t appear that there was a barber in this old building.
He immediately approached us with a wide grin on his face, explaining that the salon was being renovated, “Would you mind having a haircut outside under this fig tree?”
Tom looked at me. We both shrugged and he replied, “No, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Tom was thrilled to have an outdoor haircut.
The barber asked the young woman to give up the plastic chair she was sitting on as he ran around gather cement blocks to raise the chair to a height, comparable to that of a barber chair. All the while, neither Tom nor I could wipe the amused smiles off of our faces.
 Joel (pronounced, Joe-El) prepared the barber chair for Tom’s haircut, gathering cement blocks to ensure a steady foundatio  The cement block structure completed and ready for use.
Joel McKenzie, a former US Marine, born in Belize, having lived in Brooklyn New York, Chicago Illinois, and Los Angeles California proved to be an intriguing man with vast worldwide experience, as a renowned former stylist for Essence Magazine. He returned to his homeland of Belize in 1995 to live near his family and friends and build his hairstyling business.
 His adept hands and the delightful conversation continued during the 45-minute cut. Seldom late, old people that we are, we arrived at 11:32. Of course, our Estevan was patiently waiting in his red van outside the Top Value grocery store. We’ve invited our Minnesota friends for dinner this upcoming Friday night. We surprised ourselves how quickly we managed to get all the items we needed for our planned menu. Well, maybe not everything but most of it.
After paying Joel the US $12.50 for the haircut along with a 40% well-deserved tip, we were on our way. We still needed to get to the vegetable market and meet up with Estevan at 11:30 at the grocery store to do our shopping.
In any case, we’re happy with Tom’s haircut. Thanks, Joel for a fine job and for sharing your enchanting story, further adding to our repertoire of interesting and valuable experiences while we’re visitors in your country.
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Tom here,
My hair hasn't been this short since 1962, a half century ago!