Haircut

           

            On Tuesday morning I headed up Brock Avenue on my way to Bloor Street. I passed a school at College Street where behind a fence a group of small children were gathered in a circle and taking turns making ear piercing screams. I noticed also that every one of the kids was wearing a sun hat and wondered if that was a school policy.

            Riding east on Bloor, I was passed by a young man wearing a waterproof yellow jacket and inscribed in red on the back were the words, “Kellogg’s Surf Rescue”.  I’m sure the guy does good work, but I had no idea that eating cereal was a drowning hazard.

            I turned on Markham Street and was just locking my bike when I heard a familiar voice call out, “Good morning Christian!” It was Jane, one of the ladies from the Studio 1181 art group and she was just helping Kate, another member, out of her car. Usually I have to go around into the alley to knock on the door when I work there, but this time we’d arrived together.

            They never start right at 10:00. It’s a very relaxed set-up and they take their time while getting their stuff together and there are lots of unhurried conversations. I talked with Jane about cycling and she confessed that she rids on the sidewalk. I asked her how old she was and she told me, “I’m seventy-seven!” in a tome comparable to an athlete having just won a medal. She really doesn’t look that old. I told her that I think it’s legal for her at her age to ride a bike on the sidewalk. After a little research though, I think I found that I might be wrong about that. There’s nothing that I could find that allows seniors to ride their bikes on the sidewalk, though I suspect that the cops might not be very quick to ticket them.

            As usual the ladies took a long break about halfway through the session and as usual the model was invited to join them for coffee and whatever treats they had. This time it was ginger cookies but I didn’t have any. They were talking a lot about funerals and how disturbing the wailing is at Jewish funerals. I told them that I’d read about a culture in Central Asia in which, when someone dies there is a gathering during which only bad things are said about the deceased so that the departed’s spirit won’t feel inclined to linger on our plane.

            Another subject of conversation was various health problems of people they are close to, such as someone getting shingles in the eyes, people getting needles in their eyes, getting an infection from the needle and then requiring needles in their eyes as part of the treatment.

            There are usually two sessions in a row with this group, and I had been originally booked for the following Tuesday, but because of my April 26^th exam, I had to cancel. To make up for that I was given a booking for June 21^st.

            After work I headed down to Top Cuts at Dundas and Elizabeth to get my coiffure repaired. It had been looking pretty good up until a month before but then it started looking greasy and ragged. Amy fixed it up. I think she’s probably too talented for that company but I wonder if it’s because she’s Thai that she doesn’t try to move to a more upscale hairstyling franchise.

            I was on a roll for getting things done that day, so on the way home I stopped at the Australian Boot Company to get my Blundies conditioned. The guy gave them an oil treatment but told me not to let any dogs or cats lick them for a couple of hours.

            I felt tired very early that night. I think it must have been the hair cut.