My barber, who I'd been going to since 1997, retired the month before Covid. I found another small barber shop I liked, but the 45 minute drive was less than ideal. Then in 2022 I ran into my old barber in the grocery store. Turns out he got bored, went back to cutting hair a few hours a week for friends and old customers, and he had been trying to contact me to let me know. Since he doesn't have an actual shop anymore I have to make an appointment to stop by and get my haircut, but that's ok. No more waiting an hour like the walk in system at the old shop. So, I'm back to my old barber. He's 75, so I know I'll have to get another barber sooner rather than later, but for now everything's good.
I do miss the old walk in barber shop. It opened at 5am, and was down the block from the courthouse. Very popular with cops, lawyers and judges. I miss the conversations, you could learn a lot waiting for your haircut. One morning we figured out we had officers from two local departments, a deputy sheriff, a retired trooper, me from the county, and one FBI agent there waiting for haircuts. Oddly enough no one ever tried robbing the barber shop.