Encouragement from a haircut.

Today, Leon left to get a haircut (and don’t ask me why the man who is growing out his beard for a month to go on the streets, is getting a haircut!) while Micah and I caught a nap. I woke up...3 hours later...only to find Leon still missing. I wasn’t too worried because I thought he was just running some other errands, but that was not the case. He came back with a slightly shorter haircut than he originally wanted, and a long (but worth-reading) story to tell...

One quick note about Leon’s personality: he is an artist...he can sculpt, paint, weld, draw, and do anything artistic you can think of...including razor cut hair! He can do it all. So of course, when it comes to his own haircut (which is never straightforward, but is a faux-hawk or something that requires some major texturing), he is quite particular. He has been known to tell hair dressers to put down the scissors and pick up the razor, and how to razor his hair, or how far to fade it, etc. Basically, a hairdresser’s worst nightmare client! But for some unknown reason, the man refuses to go anywhere besides sportsclips, or somewhere that costs about $4.95 for a haircut. I cannot figure this out about him, but it is one of his many inconsistencies that makes him Leon. 

So much to my surprise, instead of going to a cheapie place like he usually does, he went to one of those places where hair dressers rent out their own little spaces inside a gallery of salons-type place. He spoke to several people up front, explained his haircut, what he wanted, and that he was very particular (not unusual for Leon to do when he goes into a new salon). One girl jumped up and said “I know how to cut hair like that!” So he followed her to the chair, and began the 20 minute explanation of how he wanted it to look, how he wanted her to cut it, what utensils he wanted her to use, etc. She, in all confidence, told him she could do it, so he then began to play Tiger Woods Golf on his iPhone. About 5 minutes later, he looked into the mirror to see that she has shaved the sides of his hair on a 1 all the way up to the top.....think army buzz cut-looking, and needless to say, not at all what Leon was wanting. 

He gasped when he saw it and in his, shall we say, direct way of speaking his mind, asked her “what are you doing?!!!!” Her face flushed and she got very embarrassed, and tried to explain herself. He cut her off, asking, “how exactly do you plan on fading that in with the length of my hair on top?”...she grabbed the scissors and started to cut, but then admitted she didn’t know how she would fade it. 

I think a few more words were exchanged, something to the effect of, 
Leon:     Why did you tell me you could cut my hair, when you clearly couldn’t?!
Girl:       I’m not sure, I thought I could.
Leon:     What part of my explanation made you think you should use a 1 all the way to the top?
Girl:       I don’t know, sometimes people just come in and they really don’t know what they want. 

And after that, Leon just got up. Took the smock off, hair all over his neck and shirt, put his hat on, and walked straight out. On his way out the door, a few more people said they could fix it, but he had his mind made up to leave...so he left!

[Ok so I overstate a little...he actually wasn’t rude to her, but actually did walk out mid-cut.]

He remembered an Aveda salon in Southlake Town Square that I have been to get my hair done, and immediately drove there to see if they could help on such short notice. They unfortunately did not have anyone working at that time, but mentioned a spa upstairs that they thought might cut hair...Leon almost went home, thinking it was hopeless, and that a spa would never have hair dressers there. But he was so desperate that he just decided to try it out. He walked up the stairs to Spa on the Square, hat still on his head, and asked if anyone cut hair. 

As he asked that, he was already turning to walk out, but they said, “yes, we cut hair!” He reluctantly took his hat off, and all the stylists standing around gasped when they saw what was under the hat! It was completely shaved on the sides, but the length of the top was untouched, and his thick hair mushroomed out like a crazy fro, just with shaved sides. They immediately called their star stylist out of the back to come take a look and see if he could do anything with the ‘do they saw before them. He said he could, and he began to tell Leon how he would do it, and as it turns out, he speaks Leon’s language when it comes to hair. So Leon felt comfortable with the guy, and sat down in his chair. 

The stylist cut and razored and textured as best he could, until he got the final product, which, given the circumstances, was pretty darn good. And as Leon was leaving, he happened to start speaking to the owner of the Spa. He told her about what he is doing in November, shared his heart with her, why he was doing it, and that he wasn’t going to see his family during this time. Her eyes widened, she listened intently, and started speaking to him in spiritual terms herself, and said she was moved by what he was doing. So much so in fact, that she immediately pulled out a business card to give to him, and on it, she wrote “free haircut” for when he gets back from the streets. On top of that, she also wrote down for Leon and me to come in when he gets back for a couple’s massage, with the only stipulation that he bathe before he comes in! :)

So thank you, Spa on the Square, for the amazing outpouring of encouragement, the haircut fix, and of course for the generous gift for us for when Leon complete’s his mission! We are overwhelmed! 

Oh, and here is the haircut that was crap, and turned nice again (from the man who never takes a serious picture)....