I get my hair cut at the same place every time: Austin’s Barbershop in downtown Beloit. I love that barbershop, and Rod, the barber, gives me a good haircut every time.
I’m not a very regular customer, and sometimes I’ll go two months without a haircut, and sometimes I’ll go four months. I like coming into the barbershop and telling Rod, “I’ve got a big job for you,” and hearing Rod chuckle and not complain.
I like how Rod kept the name of his barbershop Austin’s, even though Austin’s not around anymore. I like to sit in the same barber chair every time and look at Rod’s Coca-Cola can collection from every country. I also like that I don’t have to tell Rod what kind of haircut I want. After ten years, he just knows.
In general, if given the choice, I would rather go to an old place than a new place. Going to an old place gives you the comforting illusion of sameness in a disorienting world of flux.
Of course, no experience is ever the same experience twice. So, when I go to an old place, I’m actually visiting a slightly new place, but I’ve got memories of the old place to compare it to. I can enjoy my new haircut, while at the same time recalling previous haircuts. I can enjoy Rod’s new story about the dead squirrel in the wall, which he told me last time too.
You could say I’m set in my ways, or you could say I seek the deepest, most gratifying experience.
There’s a beautiful word that describes when a new thing overlays an old thing without completely blotting out the old thing. The word is palimpsest. I like to think about such new things while Rod cuts my hair in his old place.
I’m Chris Fink and that’s my Perspective.
