Exchange Day

It was the beginning of summer. I was out of school and was beginning a job as a waiter in an exclusive restaurant. I had left my shaved head, see ALL OFF , go by the wayside due to laziness on my part. My hair was really a mess. I missed the shaved head, but I liked being lazy as well. I was informed by the management of the restaurant, that I needed to get my hair in order before starting my job. I needed a haircut in the worst way. What kind to get, was a pressing question since Senior Pictures would be taken during the summer.

It so happened that my best friend, Bill, was out of town on a short vacation. I got up on Saturday determined to go and visit Vince, the barber, and get my hair problem taken care of. As I was having breakfast, I remembered that today was Exchange Day in town. Once a year there is a Saturday set aside, First Saturday in June, when merchants in town exchange jobs. Exchange Day can be a lot of fun since you can go into stores and sometimes get a good bargain from the not so well informed merchant.

I again got back to my hair. I did notice that the waiters at the restaurant had a short, Ivy League haircut. That wasn’t for me. I decided to go to Vince right after breakfast and get the haircut and then enjoy the day looking for bargains and watch the merchants struggle in their new position. The barbershop always opened before the regular stores so I would be finished by the time the stores opened.

When I arrived at Vince’s shop, No one was in the shop. I went in and sat down. Just then I got the shock of my life. Out came Stan, the MARINE Recruit Officer from the MARINE Recruitment Office. Not only was Stan the recruit officer, he was the MARINE I had met the day I got my head shaved.

Before I knew it, Stan said, “Well! Well! Well! If it isn’t Bud.” I was surprised that he remembered my name, after all it had been over a year ago since I last saw him. Yes! He still had that shining head. He picked up the cape and invited me to have a seat. I told him I wasn’t sure I wanted him to cut my hair since I had this important job and senior pictures to be concerned about. He raised his voice and said, “Recruit! Get in this chair at once. That’s an order.” I thought about walking out. I would come back on Monday and have Vince take care of me.

As I got up, I heard Stan say, “Recruit! I know you are concerned about getting a haircut from me, but let me assure you I know what I am doing - I am a licensed barber and he showed me his certificate. Sure enough he was not pulling my leg. It turns out that he gives haircuts to his fellow Marines. Then Stan said, “Recruit! I suggest it would not be a good idea to disobey my order. Get in the chair.”

I got in the chair and before I knew it, the cape was on and secured. Then Stan said, “Recruit! What’s with this mess? I thought we had this figured out!” I told him that I had gotten lazy and let the hair grow and it was a little out of control at this time. “Out of control!” shouted Stan. “Man we have a lot of work here.” He didn’t even ask me how I wanted it cut. He picked up the clippers and before I had time to react, I found them moving across the top of my head. I thought, ‘Oh! No! I am going to be leaving here with a baldy again.’ I found that my heartbeat began to race. I couldn’t wait for Stan to finish the shaving.

When Stan finished, he turned me to the mirror and there sat a more mature but still bald ME! I loved what I saw. As I got up, Stan said, “Recruit! You are ordered to keep this head of your clean, free of that stringy stuff. You Read Me?” I looked at him with a smile and said, “Yes Sir!” I left feeling great.

As I walked along I suddenly thought about my job and senior pictures. What have I done? It was too late. I had a week to adjust to the new haircut before I began work. My head was white. I had to get some sun on it and get a little tan so it didn’t look so bad. I spent as much time out in the sun as possible, being careful that I didn’t get a sunburn on the tender skin. I let the hair grow back as the week went on. The following Saturday I was to begin work at the restaurant. I looked in the mirror and discovered I didn’t like the looks of the hair so I shaved my head. I was surprised how much of an even tan I had. I went to work that evening and the manager came up to me and told me that I sure did look great with the shaved head. He thanked me for doing a good job with the hair.

I found that I was the only waiter that evening with the shaved head. Before the evening ended, I was aware of the fact that I was the busiest of all of the waiters. It turns out that I was asked for time and time again. As the days went on, I found that I was making good money on tips. I had the day to get more of a tan and the head began to darken and the shine really stood out more and more.

I was so involved with my job, I had forgotten about the senior pictures. I received a notice that I was to report to the studio for my senior pictures. I got dressed that morning and made sure that my head was shaved and shining. A lot of the guys have had their pictures taken with gray, blue, peach, and yes even pink shirts. I decided on pale yellow to contrast with the great tan I had. Bill arrived back from his vacation just in time for his pictures to be taken. He was to meet me at my house and then we would go together. He had let his hair grow out and it was in need of a cut before the pictures. When Bill saw my shaved head, he about fell over. “When did you do that?” he asked. It old him the story and he laughed. We stopped by Vince’s and he got his hair trimmed.

When the proofs arrived, I found it most difficult to pick the one I wanted to appear in the yearbook. The folks also had a difficult time. We voted and one was selected. When the yearbook came out, I found that I was the only male senior who had a bald head.

The job continued on into my senior year. I liked the job and I could fit it in with all of my activities. It would help me save up money for college. I kept the head, BALD! Bill got his head shaved right after senior pictures. He also has kept it shaved. He looks great with the bald head. We stopped in the Marine Recruiting Office to see Stan. He was pleased to see us still maintaining the ultimate haircut. No we didn’t sign up for the Marines. We wanted to finish our college education before making a decision like that.