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| This sticker-decorated refrigerator in the barbershop was filled with Budweiser beer for patrons. What a great idea! |
In most cases, when I begin to prepare the day’s post, I start with the heading and then the “photo from one year ago today” set it up at the bottom of the post.
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| An antique barber chair. |
Coincidentally, today after we decided to post Tom’s Buenos Aires haircut story, when I found the year-ago post for today’s date, it was for Tom’s haircut in Penguin, Tasmania. How goofy is that? We often run into such coincidences.
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| A stuffed pig head with a thong. |
Most people don’t track every day of their lives as we do, so easily referenced by a click or two. As a result, we often run into such situations, brushing them off as pure coincidence. But, in reality, perhaps they aren’t as much of a coincidence as they are our built-in routines, many of which we nurture by certain practices we’ve established along the way.
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| A shrine and other items. |
Part of those routines are a means of creating order in our otherwise extraordinary lives and, another aspect may be a result of living life itself. I do not doubt if everyone documented each day of their lives. You, too, would find uncanny repetition. After all, we are creatures of habit, aren’t we?
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| Tom was drinking his beer before his haircut. |
Yesterday, we posted our upcoming 852-day itinerary. In case you missed the new itinerary, you can click here to see it. We received so many positive comments on Facebook and via email. Feel free to add Tom or me as a Facebook friend.
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| Do we remember these? |
If you type in “Jessica Lyman” in a Facebook search, you’ll see a photo of Tom and me seated at a table since there are multiples individuals with the same name. As for Tom, his says, “Tom Lyman, De LaSalle high school, worked at Burlington Northern.”
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| Tom was explaining to the English-speaking barber how he’d like his haircut. |
We’d love to be Facebook “friends” with more of our readers. Most days, we add a snippet of what we’re doing or new posts, often including a photo and a link.
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| Tom’s wild hair before the haircut. |
Well, anyway…getting back to Tom’s haircut in Buenos Aires. Looking at google maps, Tom found several “barberia” (barbershops in Spanish) located in the Palermo Soho area, not too far from our Prodeo Hotel.
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| A bronze turtle atop an old phonograph. |
We set off on foot for the closest barbershop on Tuesday after finding they didn’t open until noon. Tom had an idea where others were located just in case they weren’t open based on published hours of operation, which we’ve found to be a common practice in Buenos Aires. Also, businesses often close for “siesta” between 2:00 and 4:00 pm.
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| Tom and barber Emi chatted during the haircut. |
Several restaurants in Buenos Aires state hours of operation online, only to find they aren’t open as indicated. We lucked out when we arrived at “Chopper Cuts” to see two patrons already in the chairs getting their haircuts.
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| The two-chair barbershop was small but seemed to have everything they needed. |
We were welcomed upon entry by the two barbers as we sat on the antique 1920’s type red velvet sofa to await Tom’s turn. Camera in hand, I couldn’t resist taking photos of the attractive surroundings, definitely possessing a “Sons of Anarchy” chopper-type feel.
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| Check out the precision of this haircut! |
Moments later, the owner opened the decorated refrigerator as shown in our photos and offered each can of Budweiser beer. We laughed out loud. What a great idea! Never in this past over five years of haircuts have we been offered a complimentary beer throughout the world.
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| We both agreed this was Tom’s best haircut since the onset of our travels, so it was reasonably priced at US $21.56 (ARS 400) with a tip. |
The haircut took about 45 minutes while I waited patiently. I enjoyed watching Emi’s attention to detail, who, as it turned out, was previously a professional dancer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Another coincidence.
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| The beer-stocked refrigerator. |
Once done, we were both thrilled with his cut, which will be much easier to manage with “hat hair” on the upcoming Antarctica cruise beginning in 19 days. What another wonderful experience!
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| Some antique ship item had been turned into a beverage dispenser. |
Today, we’ll continue to work on future planning while replying to numerous email messages from our worldwide readers. We never mind taking the time to respond to messages we receive from our dear readers. It’s always a joy to hear from YOU! We’re heading out sightseeing on Saturday.
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| The exterior of Chopper Cut barbershop in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires. |
Have a pleasant day!
Photo from one year ago today, January 4, 2017:
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| In Penguin, Tasmania, Linda, the barbershop owner, and sole employee, and Tom, before his haircut. For more details, please click here. |