When
I was young, I hated the dentist. It was never as bad as this
but bad enough. Drills
were fearsomely large on ungainly arms - attacked the teeth with the amiable
precision of a bee seeking honey, and made a very loud noise.
My
other bête noire was the barbers – or hairdressers as we metropolitans have
gotten use to call them. I was thinking of that during my last hair-cut,
watching drifts of what was once plentiful fall on to the floor. The
hairdresser had soft, fragrant hands, and whilst she was busy with my hair I
slipped into day-dream – why bother with meditation – and wondered why I was so scared of the barbers as a child.
It
may have been the ‘ceremony’ attached to it all, the overheard discussions between
my parents as to whether I was ready or not. I’d been happy enough with the
home haircut involving basin and scissors, now I picked up on their worry.
In
those days, barbers smelled of tobacco and sweat, burnt hair, talc, various
weird pomades - and Brylcreme of course.
I flirted briefly with Brylcreem when older, but was never able to hold a telephone so convincingly - nor with such a menacing sneer
I sat ensconced between two old men,
one of whom lacked a leg. It was my first experience of the peculiar British
queuing experience, where everyone observes each other from the corner of the
eye to make sure no one steps up out of turn. I was also obsessing on the large sinister chairs, elderly
necks, and feeling a terrible fear.
Every
neck there was dry and red, and creviced like World War 1 trenches. Shears
buzzed over them, alien doom-ships blasting the skin. Worse was to
come: the singeing of hair, a burning taper that frizzled the neckline into
shape. I wanted to run out – as I had with the dentist – convinced that I had entered
this place with a smooth neck, and would leave with one dry and red and deeply
lined. Five year old boys can be stupid.
8 comments:
Perhaps your fears at the barber were unfounded but I STILL hate going to the dentist.
I think more was expected of 5 year old boys back in the day than they are now.
Greg once had to see a dentist over a holiday. The man was ancient and so were his tools. He even had glass syringes. At least he had modern anesthetic. :)
Still it was a throw back to the old days when they didn't numb you before they stabbed you. To his credit, he did a better job than his more modern contemporaries.
I can understand at that age why such things would scare you. I'm fortunate enough to have not experienced things like that. My aunt used to cut my hair when I was younger. But as for dentists? hmmm...
Linda, we are all so perverse. Should we ever lose our teeth we'll look back upon dentists with rosy hued nostalgia. Ditto hair : )
Maria, I think more was expected of everyone then. :)
Dawn, you're right. Never underestimate a child's imagination or fears - and I'd add to that - never forget them :)
My experience with the barber was stultifying boredom. I am thankful for one thing resulting from all those tiresome rites: I discovered that no matter how desperate I am for entertainment, it's impossible for me to suffer through a Western (a.k.a. Hot Lead and Horse Shit) novel. Louis L'Amour's work specifically.
You mean you had cowboy books! I'm jealous. :)
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