Staples was a fantastic barber shop when I was in law school at UVA in 97-00. It never happened to me, but one of my roommates was there when Howie Long came in for a haircut.
My OCS roommate for the first 8 weeks was a UVA grad. Prior to that time, I had no idea that the decal on his back window ("The University") was for UVA. You weren't the only rube from Southern NJ (Toms River). Today, whenever I see said decal - I want to throw a brick through the window. I don't think that makes me a bad guy...
Thank you for your missives. Brings back wonderful memories that don't seem to be as front of mind as they used to be. My fourth year, I decided to grow a beard. It came in unexpectedly very reddish, and I enjoyed the lumberjack look during the Charlottesville winter. As spring sprung however, the itch defeated me, and I decided to mosey into downtown Charlottesville in search of a barber's pole. Found a classic three chair shop with two old guys sitting in wooden chairs chewing the fat when I walked in. The barber rose from one of the chairs and asked how he could help. I said, "shave and haircut", please. It was glorious! Reclined in the chair, excess beard taken off with an electric razor, near scalding hot towel swirled on my face, heated shave cream from an in-counter dispenser, straight edge razor stropped on a leather belt, and my first straight edge shave, sting of strong aftershave included. All the while, in silence, listening to the two old gents chat about old times. I miss Charlottesville. At least the Spot is still on the Corner. When was the last time you had a Gus burger or a Grillswith?
My college experience began in Lebanon Farm Shop, Lebanon, Iowa. I was holding a gusset to be welded in a truck frame. My dad lifted his welding helmet to glance my way, "Suppose you're going to college?"...too unhopeful to warrant a quick response, I thought. (As the last of nine kids, no one yet stepped up to take over dad's tough business.) I said...'think so.' He went back to welding and muttered..."One more educated derelict."
I drove my '67 Ford Custom 500 2-door fastback to the Uni of Nebraska alone, and found my way; my mom stood by the screen door and wiped her eye. After 36 years of kids filling that small rural house, it was no more.
I’ve been getting my hair cut at Staples again (I’m not calling it “His Barber Shop”) and the new guy told me the old name is coming back in a year or two, so by 2026 I think, the sign will say, “Staples” again.
Never went to Eljo’s in all my time at UVA but I wasn’t cool and also the old standards about dressing well for football games (or bringing a date) were long gone by my time there.
My mom and dad came out of the Mormon religion. It didn't stick with them. I and my brothers didn't get dose. In fact we got an immunity. Reading stories on the internets by ex-Mormons and Scientologist is a hobby in my dotage. I had a relationship with a woman in Scientology. I met her after my wife died. I thought she would be my partner till the end of my life. No, Scientology did not approve. Sad. I can't complain. My Wild Wonderful Wife has filled my life to the brim. I have to brag on her every chance I get. She has a pilots license and a 172 she is trying to fly the wing off of. She snow skies, water skis, Scuba dives and takes care of this ancient wreck she is married to.
My reading of the cults makes me wonder how civilization has survived.
Thanks for the memories of the first year at college. Reading it brought back memories of mine at Cow Piley SLO in 1954. Your dad drove you and I drove my self from Fairfield CA to SLO. The first time living away from home curtesy of dad who paid me $100 a month. California gifted me room and board for $140 a quarter. A kind family in Morro Bay gifted me their daughter as a girl friend. As an engineering student taking 16 to 20 units a quarter and a girl friend, I didn't have time for the booze life. In fact the only time I had a beer was at a graduation party. It was quite a step up from living with mom and shabby quarters even with living in left over barracks from WW2 days. I think back over my life and realize how lucky I was. Everywhere I got a hand up instead of a kick down. I had no plans after High School graduation. The only plan was military service and the GI-Bill. Then out of the blue dad popped for college. Then a HS teacher lead me by the nose to Cow Piley. Lucky!!!!
If you think Lucid has a cult hang around with Jeep people (my son is one). They even have "Secret" hand gestures to greet each other on the road. Me, I drive a Toyota Highlander.
Kudos for your policy of getting rid of the jerks. I heavily curate my social media feeds and life is much nicer.
My experience with rude behavior online dates to pre-internet dial-up bulletin board systems (BBS). I'm never surprised at things people will say but... All it takes is one idiotic and/or rude comment from someone and they are gone forever from my sight!
I also stick with places with a higher signal to noise ratio. Substack has been good. So has (heavily curated) Quora and even Facebook - mostly with heavily technical PRIVATE groups.
There is way too much noise in Twitter/X and TikTok (and the short videos it has spawned in YouTube and Facebook). YouTube - with heavy curation - can be quite useful.
Old fashioned "listserve" discussion boards (BBS descendants) are usually too much work to find anything and tend to be dominated by useless answers.
CULTS:
As for the cult of Lucid... it you want to really swim in a cult, sign up for a NFT discussion group on Discord. These make crypto discussions seem almost rational! In 2022 I spent a disposable amount on some crypto (ETH) and stared creating my own NFT - just to see how it worked. I finally "ran screaming from the room" at the idiocy.
I still get "some random junk coin" is up /down email every day from the main exchange I used. Hey, at least it wasn't FTX! Watching "values" bounce up and down by 5% or more PER DAY is somewhat amusing. The fact they have to value this junk in nasty old fiat currency is also an irony that seems lost on the cult!
OTA software updates can be risky—I definitely don’t want Alexa listening to me sing while I’m driving down MD295! It’s bad enough that Microsoft forces updates on our laptops. Now, Ford just got a patent for software that lets cars report others for speeding. The privacy concerns are huge. Time to get my 1965 Chevy running!
Staples was a fantastic barber shop when I was in law school at UVA in 97-00. It never happened to me, but one of my roommates was there when Howie Long came in for a haircut.
My OCS roommate for the first 8 weeks was a UVA grad. Prior to that time, I had no idea that the decal on his back window ("The University") was for UVA. You weren't the only rube from Southern NJ (Toms River). Today, whenever I see said decal - I want to throw a brick through the window. I don't think that makes me a bad guy...
Think again.
Your objectivity might be in question. May I suggest a poll of the non-Cavaliers?
Thank you for your missives. Brings back wonderful memories that don't seem to be as front of mind as they used to be. My fourth year, I decided to grow a beard. It came in unexpectedly very reddish, and I enjoyed the lumberjack look during the Charlottesville winter. As spring sprung however, the itch defeated me, and I decided to mosey into downtown Charlottesville in search of a barber's pole. Found a classic three chair shop with two old guys sitting in wooden chairs chewing the fat when I walked in. The barber rose from one of the chairs and asked how he could help. I said, "shave and haircut", please. It was glorious! Reclined in the chair, excess beard taken off with an electric razor, near scalding hot towel swirled on my face, heated shave cream from an in-counter dispenser, straight edge razor stropped on a leather belt, and my first straight edge shave, sting of strong aftershave included. All the while, in silence, listening to the two old gents chat about old times. I miss Charlottesville. At least the Spot is still on the Corner. When was the last time you had a Gus burger or a Grillswith?
Good to hear from you, John. I've had a Gus Burger in the last three years!
My college experience began in Lebanon Farm Shop, Lebanon, Iowa. I was holding a gusset to be welded in a truck frame. My dad lifted his welding helmet to glance my way, "Suppose you're going to college?"...too unhopeful to warrant a quick response, I thought. (As the last of nine kids, no one yet stepped up to take over dad's tough business.) I said...'think so.' He went back to welding and muttered..."One more educated derelict."
I drove my '67 Ford Custom 500 2-door fastback to the Uni of Nebraska alone, and found my way; my mom stood by the screen door and wiped her eye. After 36 years of kids filling that small rural house, it was no more.
I’ve been getting my hair cut at Staples again (I’m not calling it “His Barber Shop”) and the new guy told me the old name is coming back in a year or two, so by 2026 I think, the sign will say, “Staples” again.
Never went to Eljo’s in all my time at UVA but I wasn’t cool and also the old standards about dressing well for football games (or bringing a date) were long gone by my time there.
Thanks for a very enjoyable read. 😊
BZ IMI K
Cults!!!
My mom and dad came out of the Mormon religion. It didn't stick with them. I and my brothers didn't get dose. In fact we got an immunity. Reading stories on the internets by ex-Mormons and Scientologist is a hobby in my dotage. I had a relationship with a woman in Scientology. I met her after my wife died. I thought she would be my partner till the end of my life. No, Scientology did not approve. Sad. I can't complain. My Wild Wonderful Wife has filled my life to the brim. I have to brag on her every chance I get. She has a pilots license and a 172 she is trying to fly the wing off of. She snow skies, water skis, Scuba dives and takes care of this ancient wreck she is married to.
My reading of the cults makes me wonder how civilization has survived.
Thanks for the memories of the first year at college. Reading it brought back memories of mine at Cow Piley SLO in 1954. Your dad drove you and I drove my self from Fairfield CA to SLO. The first time living away from home curtesy of dad who paid me $100 a month. California gifted me room and board for $140 a quarter. A kind family in Morro Bay gifted me their daughter as a girl friend. As an engineering student taking 16 to 20 units a quarter and a girl friend, I didn't have time for the booze life. In fact the only time I had a beer was at a graduation party. It was quite a step up from living with mom and shabby quarters even with living in left over barracks from WW2 days. I think back over my life and realize how lucky I was. Everywhere I got a hand up instead of a kick down. I had no plans after High School graduation. The only plan was military service and the GI-Bill. Then out of the blue dad popped for college. Then a HS teacher lead me by the nose to Cow Piley. Lucky!!!!
If you think Lucid has a cult hang around with Jeep people (my son is one). They even have "Secret" hand gestures to greet each other on the road. Me, I drive a Toyota Highlander.
I would love a picture of BMcG in the Jersey issue leather sport coat. Would have been a big hit at the Psi house!
I rushed second year, and it did not return with me after Thanksgiving first year.
Great memories of our fathers never fade away.
Eljo's. Until you've met Myles, you haven't experienced true customer service.
Agreed, sir.
JERKS:
Kudos for your policy of getting rid of the jerks. I heavily curate my social media feeds and life is much nicer.
My experience with rude behavior online dates to pre-internet dial-up bulletin board systems (BBS). I'm never surprised at things people will say but... All it takes is one idiotic and/or rude comment from someone and they are gone forever from my sight!
I also stick with places with a higher signal to noise ratio. Substack has been good. So has (heavily curated) Quora and even Facebook - mostly with heavily technical PRIVATE groups.
There is way too much noise in Twitter/X and TikTok (and the short videos it has spawned in YouTube and Facebook). YouTube - with heavy curation - can be quite useful.
Old fashioned "listserve" discussion boards (BBS descendants) are usually too much work to find anything and tend to be dominated by useless answers.
CULTS:
As for the cult of Lucid... it you want to really swim in a cult, sign up for a NFT discussion group on Discord. These make crypto discussions seem almost rational! In 2022 I spent a disposable amount on some crypto (ETH) and stared creating my own NFT - just to see how it worked. I finally "ran screaming from the room" at the idiocy.
I still get "some random junk coin" is up /down email every day from the main exchange I used. Hey, at least it wasn't FTX! Watching "values" bounce up and down by 5% or more PER DAY is somewhat amusing. The fact they have to value this junk in nasty old fiat currency is also an irony that seems lost on the cult!
That's a fine comment.
OTA software updates can be risky—I definitely don’t want Alexa listening to me sing while I’m driving down MD295! It’s bad enough that Microsoft forces updates on our laptops. Now, Ford just got a patent for software that lets cars report others for speeding. The privacy concerns are huge. Time to get my 1965 Chevy running!
Another cracking read, thanks.