Happy Father’s Day As I watch the toddler in the barber chair I can still remember when that was me. I can hear the buzz of the electric clippers and the clicking sound of the scissors. Sgt. Linton, our barber, has a firm lock on my head, like he’s palming a basketball. I’m covered with an apron sitting high up on phone books or in a baby’s chair. I twist and turn to see the mirror behind me, to see what Sgt. Linton is dong to my head. Fist full of hair falls all around me as the old men laugh at my dilemma. But my dad is there and he calms me down. He assures me everything will be all right. He challenged me to be “a big boy”. And all is well. I grew up at that barbershop. My dad eventually would just have me stop at the barbershop on my way home from school. I’d hear the old men’s stories. I’d get all my hair cut off according to dad’s orders. And later dad would stop by and pay Sgt. Linton. My dad was wise. He knew I would need a diverse mix of lessons to become a man. He trusted Sgt. Linton and other men to help guide and raise me. (That’s a nice way of saying any black man in our community could correct me and report to him so I could be corrected/whipped by him later.) At Sgt. Linton’s barbershop I was surrounded by pictures of black Army officers on the wall, Jet and Ebony magazines and a host of black men just talking that talk. They all helped me, they helped my dad. Since my dad died I’ve been attending these men’s funerals. I’ve learned even more about them and have a greater appreciation for them and my hometown. As I remember my father this Father’s Day I am also thankful for all the other black men in Leavenworth, Kansas who helped make me who I am. I am truly blessed. Happy Father’s Day!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:55:17 +0000
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