The City Barber Shop has been in business for as long as I can remember; it is owned and operated by a guy named Roger. It is the place where I remember getting my hair cut for the first time. I must have been around 4 or 5. My dad took me and Roger put a booster seat type of board on the barber chair so I would sit up high enough. I always asked for a “GI,” which was the easiest hair cut possible. I doubt that was the first place where I received my first haircut, it is just the first memory I have. I am pretty sure that my elderly sister used to cut my hair before then.
- Shelton Beach Pharmacy Wildcats
This morning I got up early and was at his place at 7:30. Because Roger takes a little longer than others, I knew I had to be first in line to go on to other things I had planed. However, the wait is worth it for a really good hair cut.
What I like about visiting Roger’s is that I get to meet people who reconnect me with forgotten memories, and sometimes correct faulty memories. I met a guy today who’d graduated from Satsuma 12 years before I did. As we spoke we learned we had some connections; he worked in the A/C business (I once sort-of worked in this business) and we both went to Satsuma High School. But what was most interesting to me was his last name.
I played baseball for the Shelton Beach Pharmacy Wildcats for three years. This was my first time to play organized baseball; I was 10. Coach Byrd was, well, the coach. I have memories of going over to his house on McKeough Street to try on uniforms, of riding in the back of his green pick-up truck to practice, and of his love of coaching.
As I spoke with the guy at Roger’s I learned that he and Coach Byrd were brothers. I had thought about my coach many times in my life. Once, he allowed me to pitch during practice – a mistake that Ernie Carlisle regretted as I threw a wild pitch right into Ernie’s back. Thankfully, he didn’t charge the mound. I also remember the confidence that I gained by playing for Coach Byrd.
Sadly, Coach Byrd had passed away several years ago. Mr. Byrd said that Coach Byrd’s wife sold her house and moved away after that. I need to make it over to Roger’s more often.
.jpg)