When I was younger I use to get my haircut at Tony's barbershop. If you from the Northside of Huntsville you probably laughing, because he was considered the worst barber in town. The many horror stories I heard growing up and the many jokes. I never got joked pesonally, I guess because he did a decent job on my head, but I heard the tales of how he would butcher a client's head during a game. To me going to the barbershop was a adventure and at Tony's there was no telling what you were going come across. I can still smell the cherry tobacco he use to smoke in his pipe. Waiting to be cut next I either read the "latest" (it was more like 8 months old but new to me) Sports Illustrated or the Childrens Illustrated bible, while listening to my dad and the older guys talk about the lastest current events. The setting in his shop was like something from the late 60's or 70's there was a shoe shine station that I never saw in use it was mostly used for storage, as you walke in there were Old leather chairs were lined up against the wall facing two barber chairs even though there was never another barber in the shop, just Tony.
There are three moments I recall while going to Tony's, the first was during the summer i oftern didnt get my haircut, there was no need since it was the middle of summer and I wasnt in school, but apparently my mom was tired of looking and my head and dropped me off while she went to the nearby Winn-Dixe. So I walk in and got in the chair cause it was like right after lunch during the work week so it was dead, and as soon as I sit the chair this older mentally challenged guy comes storming in. Tony knew him so he spoke to the guy, and then asked him if wanted to cut my hair. Now at this point I was like ten, in my mind I couldnt cry, but the horror of getting a cut by a random mentally challenged dude was not the businees, so the tears started to rev up and I was about to hollar as Tony motioning like he was handing the guy the clippers. He jerked it away at the last second and the guy got mad and stormed out. I couldn't tell if Tony was laughing at me or laughing at the way the guy stormed out. I was no good after that.
The second memory is the time he had me play some numbers for him, now I know you thinking Alabama never had the lotto, well we do and we dont. Back then and I can say this and it aint snitching because they were busted, there was a clothing shop located rignt next door. As I waited for a hair cut (while my mom was shopping again) he handed a small piece of paper with some numbers on it and some money and told me to run next door and hand it to the lady at the store. Now if you know me my stubborness make me hard of hearing, so when I ran next door and handed over the numbers, I didn't know if I handed it to the right person or not. But when he asked if handed "them" the numbers and I shook my head yes and that was it. I doubt he hit that week. But it was pretty amazing to me now that as kid he had me running numbers. I didn't know any better cause I didn't know what numbers was and better yet I didn't know it was illegal. I dont think he hit that week because he never asked me to do it again. He probably was shocked when asked and realized his numbers were never played.
The last story I have was probably one of the last times I got my haircut by Tony. My dropped me off at Boys Scout at the First Baptist which was right across the street from his shop, and told me after scout meeting go get my haircut. I gave her every excuse in the book of to why i couldn't do that, reason being every guy in my troop was jokesters and I could not give them any ammo to go at me, which would of been the case if they caught walking over to Tony's. That was the longest scout meeting ever as I was thinking of how the heck was i was going to get out of this haircut. Then it hit me, I just wont go! I can take my mom being mad me more than I could take a barrage of jokes. So when my mom finally showed up she was hot and ended up driving me to the shop, right across the street. This was one of the last times I got my haircut there as my parents became aware of the Tony horror stories and me my dad found another barber.
The last time I saw Tony was when I was working at local grocery store I was working at and the hurt in his eyes as he saw me with a freshely ut Caesar haircut but another barber. He stopped me and asked me what happened, I had to think of a quick white lie, I told him me and my Dad hair fell out and we had to start going somewhere else. Yea I dont think he belived it but thats all I can think of. I was shocked when I found out recently Tony passed away. I have to say his bad haircuts were motivation for me to learn how to cut hair, and I too have given many of bad haircuts, but I have gotten more better. Hopefully he leaves a chair open for me in heaven when we meet again.