Tilton NH (standard:drama, 1079 words)
Author: Harrison	Added: May 31 2005	Views/Reads: 3031/2026	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This is the classic epiphany of growing up. With a barbershop metaphor, the main character realizes that the only things that stay the same are his memories, and no one can take those away.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

I found myself wondering if this place will ever change. Seems like a
stupid thing to wonder doesn't it? Everything changes. I could just see 
the old buggies outside changing to old corvettes and old tie-dye cars 
and new Grand Cherokees and Caravans. I could see the sidewalk being 
paved and the guys painting that damn yellow line. I could see the 
bricks falling and the church windows catching rocks hurled by kids 
with nothing else to do. I could see the world falling apart. And then 
I could see Earl, watching it all happen, standing calmly behind his 
barber chair, not saying a word. Sometimes I thought he was a ghost, or 
God, or something else, unexplainable, genius and all knowing. 

My hair sat on the floor, and Earl pulled that sheet off me and spun me
around in the same motion. I didn't recognize myself. The reflection of 
the street sat still in the mirror. The sun was out. I got up, handed 
him my crinkled ten-dollar bill, and walked toward the heavy door. 

“See you around Earl,” I said, opening the heavy door. 

“See ya kid,” he said, without turning. Earl wasn't the turning type. 

I walked away from the barbershop and looked back at it one last time. I
wondered if in five years I would come back and see some empty space 
for rent, some brick building falling down like all the rest of the 
buildings in this old town. I would hate to see it. That old barber 
shop can't fall down. 

The bricks will never fade from the shoulder of that short little
building that wouldn't quit for anything. Earl will always look the 
same. The walls will always be faded and the tiles will always be that 
color. Some things don't change, and sometimes you just have to say it 
and walk away. 

I drove home thinking about Earl, the old man that will never die, and
the old building that has always been and will always be. 


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