What is with the Crowd At Barbershops?

With 50 Cent surprisingly moving down my list of People I Hate the pole position is now up for grabs.  I considered opening it up to this group but realized hate my be a bit too much.  Strongly dislike would be the way I'd describe the crowd you see at a Barbershop while you wait to get "yer hair did."  And its not just at my current Barber's either.  I've gone to three distinctly different barbers since graduating from Super Cuts back in the 8th grade, each of them attracting a different crowd, each equally despised by yours truly. 

First- The old man barbershop (pictured above).  My first barber was an older Italian Gent, great guy, could spin a yarn like no one else.  Problem was all the stories took place 20+ years ago (when it was apparently a simpler time).  A place like this predictably attracts the older crowd reminiscing about their first "hook ups" back 30-40 years ago, and vintage cars, then there was always the 20 something kid who wanted desparately to be  an old man and fit in with everyone there, I never understood that mind set.  Who wants to be old?  Definitely not my crowd.  Didn't hate the people, but I always felt like I needed a glass of warm milk and a nap after leaving the place. 

Second- My second barbershop was frequented while away at college.  This place was your stereotypical Latin/Black barbershop, and the cast of characters looked like something right out of a hip hop video. Speaking in different languages or slang that my friends and I were too white to understand this was like stepping into a different world (its important to note we chose this place because it was cheap and right down the street, this wasn't a case of some college kid struggling with his racial identity, I'm secure in my whiteness).  There was a sign in sheet to track the order of people who came in, this in my experience was useless.  As if trying to make up for generations of racial biases my friends and I were repeatedly dropped behind whoever walked in off the street despite our names being on the list for hours. It literally would take 2 hours to get a cut sometimes.  Safe to say I hated this place.  

Third- My current barbershop.  Urban but with a distinctly white feel, the problem is when I walk in I feel like I'm the only one that holds a real job and didn't get into a brawl in the past week.  I have no idea where these kids all come from, but they're typically 18-22 years old, speak in general terms like "I'm so glad I'm not in school anymore, who needs an education," or "my parents are always on me about what time I'm going to be home, I'm 19 years old, I'm an adult" or my favorite "we got in this wicked brawl last week, Marky got booted in the head."  These are the kids that throw $20 at a fade each week so they can continue hooking up with whatever Walking STD Townie Girl they're currently into.  Comical? Yes.  Eye opening? Also yes.  Enjoy your career as a day laborer, and I hope you get the most out of that Infinity now, when its repossessed in a couple months for defaulting on your loan you'll be back to driving the kind of shit box you can expect to own the rest of your life. 

50 Cent Snow Shoveling Service

50 Cent Hustling For Extra Cash, Shoveling Snow - Rapper 50 Cent was determined to get rich or die shoveling Monday after a gigantic year-end blizzard dumped heavy snow on the whole East Coast, and he enlisted a posse of neighborhood kids to help him with his latest business venture. “I’m going out to shovel snow and see if I can make me a few extra dollars today. I’m charging more if they want to take pictures,” the millionaire MC tweeted on the day of the blizzard. “I want a hundred dollars per house. I bet anybody ill make a grand moving snow today.” He found some young employees, whom he hired at a generous $30 an hour, and put his business savvy to work. “One is a cute kid he has on a snow suit. So I’m sending him to ring the door bell to ask if we can shovel there snow,” he wrote. “When you look at his eyes its hard to tell him no … then I come to tell them how much they have to payus.”

Does this mean I have to like 50 Cent now?  For years the guy has been at the very top of my people I hate list.  It was hate at first sight ever since Shawty It's Your Birthday (please note I honestly don't care if that isn't the "official" title) became a smash hit.  I knew instantly as I walked into my friends dorm and saw the video, listened to its moronic lyrics, and heard the artists ridiculously dumb name, that I'd have a lifetime of hating pleasure to work with. 

But now this? 50 teaching kids work ethic and entrepreneurship through hard labor?  Shit.  A part of me wants to bash him for using child labor, but that would be the obvious route to go, and honestly my heart wouldn't  be in it.  And at first I was appalled at the idea that this guy needed to go charge $100 a house to shovel, why not send over whatever plow service you use as a holiday gift? But then I read on and saw that he was paying the kids off at $30 an hour, so again, I can't fault him there.  I guess 50 Cent is...gulp...a good guy?

I think I'm going to take it slow here.  I can't rush my feelings, I've had such a strong hatred for him for so long, a change of opinion will take some time.  I'm going to start by following him on Twitter (you can follow me @TheAltTab), and maybe try and not make a snarky comment every time I hear his name mentioned.  We'll see how it goes.  I can gaurantee you that I will not support his music career though. 

One last dig for nostalgias sake:

I bet anybody ill make a grand moving snow today.

I figured an experienced drug dealer with a past like his would make much more than a grand a day pushing coke, no?

So Tired of Hearing About the Blizzard of 78

Last Snowstorm related post, I swear

Just a general message to the real adults amongst us (age 35+).  Stop romanticizing the blizzard of 78.  Every time it snows it is not a chance for yourself or news anchors to speak breathlessly about the events that took place that snowy February day.  It wasn't even the biggest storm this area has faced!  That came in 2003, hell I'd even argue that a freak 25 inches on April 1st 1997 was even more ridiculous, it was APRIL!  So seriously, its time to wipe this storm from your snow day lexicon of old, overused stories.  Move on.   You didn't walk up hill both ways to school, it didn't take you weeks to dig out, and it wasn't the biggest storm we've ever seen. 

Signed,

People Born After 1975

Ironic Snow Man

You just know this was made by some non-conformist hipster, gotta love them.