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26th AMENDMENT SIGNING | MEMORIES | YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Phyllis The Barber of Civil OR
The Butcher of the Bill
We were about to depart for New York City for Bill to enter a degree program at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary on 122nd Street and Broadway. Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, Bill had always paid a small amount for haircuts - generally about 25 cents per hair cut. He had always gone to the same barber shop (Tandy's Barber Shop) and Romie Barnette (a distant cousin) was his favorite barber.
Having very limited resources, Bill sought for ways to save money as we moved to the big city. One such bright idea was to purchase a hair cutting kit from the local Sharpe's hardware store and to allow Phyllis to perfect her (as yet non-existent) skills as a barber. The kit had little instructions but did include some attachments which allowed short to long trimming as well as a couple of attachments which were designed to taper the hair.
The day of reckoning arrived and we put a sheet around Bill's shoulders and Phyllis began the training process. Phyllis started with the tapered trimming attachment. Bill demonstrated how Phyllis should hold the trimmer so that the tapering would be even all along the sides. What could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, Bill did a lousy job of explaining what he thought to be the appropriate way of holding the clippers because soon Bill had tapering hair all over the top of his head and also some completely bald spots on the sides as well. Phyllis announced, "I'm done." Bill asked for a mirror so that he could admire her hair-cutting skills, but Phyllis refused the mirror and quickly ascended the stairs to leave the area.
When Bill saw how he looked, he searched for a knit wool cap which he wore for the remainder of the long, hot, humid summer in Kentucky!
Our neighbor had a similar experience in May, 2020!
OK - it wasn't THIS bad!
PS - Phyllis was never ever forced allowed to cut Bill's hair again!