February 9, 2017 - You Only Live Once

February 9, 2017

You Only Live Once

The first time I got a haircut here in Bolivia was at a place downtown.  An old man cut it and ignored everything I told him.  He did it his way.  I was willing to go back, but was in no rush.  I hoped instead that I’d find something else.

The other day, quite by accident, I noticed a place near my house.  It is a nice beauty salon, but had pictures of men as well as women outside.  So I thought I’d try it.  The next day I walked by there and didn’t see it, thinking maybe I had imagined it.  Then Sunday, as I was passing Starbucks, I saw it again, tucked between two nice restaurants.

So I went back.  The sign on the door said closed, but there were some girls inside.  I thought they were not opened yet.  I had another errand to run and decided I would return in a few minutes.  Again, the sign said closed.  But this time I tried the door.

“Excuse me.  When are you open and do you cut men’s hair?”

“Of course, we are open and yes, we cut men’s hair.”  That’s when they noticed the sign had not been turned to open.  All of them fussed a lot wondering how many customers they had lost.

I asked how much is the haircut.  Eighty Bolivianos.  Yikes I thought.  Then I did the money calculations.  That is only $11, cheaper than I pay in Ennis. I soon was to discover it was possibly the best haircut experience of my life.

They began by washing my hair.  Not once, but three times, in the most unbelievable massage I ever thought possible.  I was almost asleep by the time she finished.

Then I was sent to Elie, a lady probably around 45 or 50.  I can’t tell ages, so who knows?  She took 45 minutes cutting my hair.  Her attention to detail amazed me.  And she talked up a storm.  We talked about the weather in Santa Cruz, the weather in Dallas, what is nice to see in Dallas, why I was in Bolivia, where her daughter goes to school, how men don’t like getting haircuts, and stuff like that.

Then she started working on my beard.  I had been letting it grow for about two weeks and I guess it looked kinda shabby.  She shaved and cut and clipped to make it look better than ever.

Then I got a second shampoo.  Am I in heaven?  Seriously the shampoo girl massages my head until I am about to fall asleep.  Then Elie took me one last time to dry my hair, wax it a bit, and check that I walked out of there handsome.

Best spent $11 ever!

The place is called YOLO (You Only Live Once).  Here is my philosophical input on that phrase that I know has been taken over by the World.  We do only live once, and then we meet the Father.  We need to do all we can in this life to live well and correctly and to the fullest before we meet Him.  Don’t be ashamed when that day comes.

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