I am going to miss Tallahassee. I am also going to miss my barbershop. It's a different world in there.
North Florida has more in common with rural Georgia than it does with Orlando or Miami or Tampa. This is captured in the oft-repeated phrase "The farther north you go, the farther south you go." Nowhere is this truer than my barbershop.
Three guys work there:
Boss: This guy cut my hair once, and he was drunk. It was 11:00 AM on a Monday. He did a good enough job, and I got the impression it wasn't the first time he had started out the day with a few drinks.
Creep: Dude makes lots of unfunny jokes and laughs hysterically. Once we were talking about financial bailouts, and the conversation turned to government intrusion. He talked about how it wasn't fair for "the law" to put people's pictures online who were guilty of crimes. He then said that his picture was online for something that happened with his hated ex-wife. I didn't inquire further because NOTHING would surprise me about this guy.
Old Timer: He is at least 80. We were talking about the discipline problems with FSU's football teams. He said they didn't have these problems before "they let the blacks play." The guy is genuinely nostalgic for the segregationist era. I once asked him what the biggest change he has seen in his lifetime. His answer: "Biggest change? Me. I'm old now." Well said, old-timer.
