I had mentioned I was the unfortunate recipient of a botched haircut recently, courtesy of a local stylist’s acid-tripping ways with shears. The botched ‘do wasn’t just a minor flub. It was a pretty fundamental miscalculation wherein one side of my hair was a whole inch and a half longer than the other. It looked like a mid-80s asymmetrical ‘do as constructed by the special needs.   Everytime I’d look in the mirror I’d cry, “Why? WHY???” Jake would look at me, chuckle, and say something like, “it’s only cause your hair curls differently on one side,” as if to infer it’s somehow my hair’s fault.

Well, my shame ended last night, courtesy of our friend Richard and his wife Eileen. Richard and Eileen own a 10,000 square foot salon up in Montclair, New Jersey called Bangz. Bangz is housed inside a renovated church. If you find yourself in Montclair, you should definitely get your hair cut there because I think it might be a mystical experience.  Eileen and Richard moved to our small town many years ago because, as Richard informed us, it’s on the right meridian. You know, in case disaster strikes. Apparently, there are only a handful of “right meridians” in the United States, parts of Montana and our little county in Virginia being two of them. Their house — which has 10 sides — sits atop a mountain overlooking nothing but forest as far as the eye can see. Richard designed and built it himself. It is a piece of paradise and I think one of the reasons why Eileen and their daughter Aiyana are so serene. How many hair stylists-slash-carpenters do you know? And before they opened Bangz, they bred ostriches. Ostriches! Eclectic people, these folks! And Richard gave me a killer haircut.

This classy lady can once again swish her mane with pride.  Thanks again, Richard and Eileen!

There are a lot of interesting people in our little corner of the world.