The Good Old Days When You Could Get a Manicure or an
Appendectomy!
Remember when the neighborhood barbershop used to be the
center of the community? Sure the town haircutter had
power then, but, back in tribal times, when men were really
men, the barber was also something of a high priest.
People believed that long hair was a sign of "evil
spirits," so the barber had the scissors - and the
spiritual power - to free them of any bad juju just by
chopping their locks.
If only it were that simple today. Because if it was,
there would be more than a few Washington politicians and
Wall Street tycoons that should have their heads completely
shaved.
In Greece, around 500 BC, the barbershop really became the
cradle of civilization - from a man's perspective, that is.
The barber (the word "barber" comes from the Latin word
for "beard," if you're wondering) would trim and curl noted
gentlemen's beards and add scents (yes, there were grooming
products even back then). And, wouldn't you know it, the
guys would talk about sports, as guys apparently always did
after whenever the first ball was invented. A barber's
talents were so important back then that a big deal Greek
politician actually lost an election because his opponent's
beard was more neatly trimmed. Shades of the 1960
Kennedy-Nixon debate!
The Romans continued the Greek tradition and created their
own version of the barbershop franchise, taking the
tonsorial parlor to new heights. Some Roman gents would
spend hours a day at the barbershop, which included such
bonus services as massages, manicures and all sorts of
ointments and cosmetics. And once again, it was the
central gathering place for the most notable Roman men. As
a matter of fact, Romans elevated barbers to such a status
that they put up a statue dedicated to the first barber of
Rome. You sure don't see many barber monuments these days.
The whole barbershop business took a left turn during
medieval times though, when barbers used to cut more much
more than hair. Do you know how the design of the
traditional red and white barber pole originated? You may
not want to know, as this is information that may disturb
the squeamish, but barbers during medieval times used to
also be in charge of bloodletting - the charming practice
of cutting people so they bled a lot. In those pre-Blue
Cross days, it was the common belief that that was how you
could rid the body of disease, a practice that went on for
almost two thousand years (and if you think we're smarter
today, remember there are still a substantial number of
people who think the Chicago Cubs will one day win a World
Series).
Barbers, interestingly enough, also decided around then
they were dentists as well as surgeons - so when you went
in for a shave and a haircut, you might leave missing
either a vital organ or tooth. People complained - at
least the ones who lived did - but the King of England
upheld that a barber-surgeon was a good thing. Probably
the Romans were smarter to limit the extra services to the
massages and manicures, rather than allow a barber to
literally have a license to kill. It wasn't until the late
1800's that barbers were once again limited to cutting hair.
The barbershop model that the Greeks and Romans celebrated
evolved into the All-American barbershop so familiar to all
of us from our childhood and old movies and TV shows.
Unfortunately, it fell out of favor after the 60's, when
men's hair became longer and more complicated. Suddenly,
guys were sneaking into beauty parlors to get the same kind
of service as their wives and girlfriends - or getting a
quick hack job at the new unisex haircutter franchises and
businesses.
Fortunately, that classic barbershop is making a bit of a
comeback, combining the best of the old and the new.
----------------------------------------------------
Kennedy's All-American Barber Club(r) caters to gentlemen
looking for a fine grooming experience with the old world
charm of your father's barber shop. Offering the finest in
haircuts for men, the lost art of straight-razor shaves and
a modern selection of grooming products Learn more about
Kennedy's by visiting http://www.KennedysBarberClub.com
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