I met my son for a haircut this morning at 8:30am. I had let my hair grow out for a couple of months so the barber would have something to work with. My son loves getting his haircut and goes every couple of weeks so I had to figure out when our schedules to synchronize.
I enjoyed our time together at the barber shop. It is a classic environment where humor and world events collide with personal beliefs from diverse perspectives. I felt like I was back in Los Angeles. Everything from religion to politics came up in conversation. Fist bump greetings for each new arrival circulated in the room.
Two hours later after we both had our haircuts he asked me how I liked my mine and I said, “great I look better than you!” Nothing like a good haircut to bring out a little bravado in a dad.
We went to breakfast at Daves bar and grill afterwards. It is an institution that I was recently introduced to by a friend. My son and I sat at the bar and we couldn’t resist having a beer with our breakfast that included home made sausage gravy and country potatoes.
I’m not a real gravy and potatoes guy but this gravy is so good I smothered it on. The gravy is why I wanted to take my son there! We watched a basketball game on the television. Iowa came back from behind to tie up the game with Michigan State and go on to win in overtime. We are close to March Madness and you could see the intensity of the competition.
Two shotguns are inlaid underneath the bar glass along with numerous gold belt buckles that look like rodeo trophies but were shooting awards instead. I think this will become a monthly tradition for my son and I. We talked about trap shooting this summer. I am grateful for this time together.
This kind of bar and grill reminds me of my own experiences as an 11 year old boxer. My coach would take me running in the morning and then we would go to one of his favorite bars for breakfast where I would eat food and he would drink beer.
I made this image at the Checkerboard Tavern several years ago. It’s a bar that has the oldest continuous liquor license in the state of Washington. I met a friend that I ride motorcycles with there and happened to have my camera with me. I approached this guy and asked him if I could make a photograph. He asked me why I wanted to so I explained that he reminded me of the characters I would see when my boxing coach took me to dive bars all those years ago. I told him that I was too young to have a camera back then but that he reminded me of those wonderful experiences and I wanted to capture that. He said yes and I made the image. I felt like I belonged there. I love dive bars filled with the salt of the earth people.
Later in the afternoon I was filming an interview for a documentary film I am working on that involves a music concert in an abby that featured an opera singer and a burlesque dancer. I was interviewing the vicar of the church and asked him how he would respond to critics that would be outraged that he allowed the performance to occur in his church. I loved his response. He said, “a church that doesn’t smell of cigarettes and liquor isn’t serving the people church was intended for in the first place.” Father Jonathan is a special kind of vicar. I can’t wait to finish this documentary as the interviews and performances were exceptional.
I hope you had a good Saturday. Mine was filled with interesting people and conversations.
Cheers,
Ira
