A time for everything

For Jacob, it was time for a haircut last Saturday. Eric's longtime hair cutter, Laura Lee (stylist to the stars--or at least local tv and radio personalities), opened her own shop in waterside Locust Point, so we decided to give her some business. Little did we know she's awesome with tiny first timers.

Jacob sat in the chair all by himself (with a very large booster seat), donned the cape and was really good for most of the long session that included trimming with the scissors then overall shaping with the shears. It was actully me that cried as he first sat in that chair looking so grown up already. Then, as our lame distractions became just plain annoying, and he had had more than enough, the tears started flowing from our little caped customer.

It seemed to take a long time to cut a 21-month old's seemingly sparse mop. And for all that trouble, time and cajoling, Laura Lee wanted to charge us just $10. Eric pays $20 or $25 (can't remember which) and while those that love him know he can be difficult at times, I suspect that Jake was a tad more challenging in the chair. We tipped accordingly.

All was right with the world again as newly-shorn Jacob discovered Laura Lee's extensive toy collection, which included trucks, trucks, cars and more trucks, and he came to love her little shop.

We played a little putt putt on her miniature green (didn't Darren Stevens's boss in Bewitched have something like that in his office?) and talked politics. Laura Lee displays a picture of incumbent Governor Bob Ehrlich on her wall. It's not the press-office head shot. It's a real 4x6 of him with a little tow-headed boy --either his own or Laura Lee's son--I forgot to ask. But the thing is that she has the picture because she was his tenured stylist for a time before he got into the gubenatorial side of life. This is good because finally I can ask her what is the deal with his hair? She says that all that hair is really his own, but that she is not responsible for the bowl-shaped side burn distortion he now sports. Good to know.

We then ambled down Hull Street toward the water for an impromptu lunch at Hull Street Blues and in typical quirky Balto. fashion, saw a little mini train display in a window of a formstone-clad rowhouse. That made J's day. And when we go back to My Grandfather's Place for the next haircut (hmm, in 2010 with the way his hair grows?), I suspect that Jacob will be saying "Wanna see trains!" Gotta love Baltimore, hon.