If you looked at the picture of our spa in the previous blog you will see the contrast in lifestyle amenities. At the other end of the scale is the guy in the picture on the right. I pass him every day on my walk to work. He always says hello and touches his chin to show that he'd like to give me a shave. Since I don't have any hair there isn't much else in his marketing quiver. Still, that doesn't seem to keep the shoeshine boys from wanting to shine my flip flops or Marilynn's running shoes. After all, this are bootstrap entrepreneurs. My barber friend is a classic sidewalk operator - he has two ripped unmatched chairs patched with strapping and duct tape sitting on the sidewalk with an torn dirty awning above and a hand mirror propped on the windowsill. There is no running water, so he has a bucketful sitting against the wall. He's not always busy, but he's busier that I would imagine, and he does shaves with a straight razor (scary thought) and lots of haircuts. Since he works in the street he doesn't worry about the hair that falls on the ground. Apparently no one else does either, because all the broken pavers and and cracks in the sidewalk are full of hair and have been ever since I started walking this street 9 months ago. It's an interesting contrast, because almost everyone has a small Vietnamese broom and they are always sweeping dirt and leaves. There must be a special dispensation for fallen hair. No one else seems to care or notice. I guess it's a cultural difference.
There are many...
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