NO girls allowed.

Nick needed a haircut in a bad way today. The problem is that my boys mostly despise getting their hair cut. I think it has something to do with having to sit still in one spot for more than a minute. Understandably, I decided to bribe the boys with a buttery Katie's pretzel and a trip to the toy store if they could first patiently wait for their brother to get a much needed haircut at the barbershop.

All the boys liked the sound of going to the toy store, so they scrambled into the car with great enthusiasm and also enlisted the company of a neighbor friend.

Now the place where the boys get their haircut is a place in town called, "Friendly's Barbershop". I don't take the boys there very often; only when their dad is unavailable to cut their hair. It's one of those 'old timey, quaint barbershops where men mostly go. (Women would never want to get a haircut in this place!) It's got the "candy cane" pole out front, fairly inexpensive haircuts, three basic stations inside, and a couple of gumball machines that offer gum for 10 cents. I like to think of it as one of the last places in this town where men can gather and talk openly about politics, women, cars, hunting and the weather without the politically correct crowd...or obnoxious demanding women, forcing certain opinions on tired ears. It's a sanctuary for men I think, so I always feel out of place when I walk in with my brood of boys. I sense that the conversation between the men there stops when I walk in, and they must talk about things more mundane because of my presence.

As I hurry my boys to the the waiting area, I wonder if they feel the same sense of not belonging as I do. (I'm sure it's the same feeling men get when they have to sit in their wives gynecologist office.) Not a chance... these boys fit. right. in. Before I knew it, the boys spotted the magazine rack and excitedly selected a magazine to peruse. "Hmmm." I thought as I looked up from my Newsweek magazine, "These boys look like a bunch of old men relaxing in their rocking chairs." I was struck with how quiet it was. They were so good!

After a few seconds of looking at all my quiet boys, I realized what they were reading: Sports Illustrated, Guns and Ammo, Hunting Magazine and Bass Fisherman. Truly this was a world I could not relate to in the least, but could certainly understand. You can argue that it's not a man's world anymore, but you can always find one at your neighborhood barbershop. I find it very refreshing that there is a place in my town where my boys are comfortable...even if I am not.