I sat in the barber’s chair yesterday morning and heard a father talk to his young son. The boy was maybe five-years-old. They were behind me and I couldn’t see them.

The father said, “Punch me here, right here in the face. You don’t want to? It’s okay, right here.” He laughed and I heard him show the boy how to make a fist. “You hit with your knuckles. Like this.”

While my barber changed the blade on his straight razor I half-turned and saw the father, a fat guy with a doughy face. My barber then used the razor along my neck and I heard the father say, “Do you want me to give you a beatin’?” It wasn’t said in anger but in a soft, kind voice. My barber put the razor down and I half-turned again and saw the father’s arm around the boy. He pulled his son close and kissed him on the head.

“After we’re done here I’ll get you that fire engine.”

[Photo Credit: Matt Wilson]