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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/do-we-ever-close/2016/02/15/a4657e06-d424-11e5-9823-02b905009f99_story.html
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| ‘Do we ever close?’ | ‘Do we ever close?’ |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| You’d think the people at the Hair Company would take the day off, it being a national holiday with temperatures in the 20s and a steady snowfall making the downtown sidewalks slippery and slushy and almost deserted. | You’d think the people at the Hair Company would take the day off, it being a national holiday with temperatures in the 20s and a steady snowfall making the downtown sidewalks slippery and slushy and almost deserted. |
| You’d be wrong. | You’d be wrong. |
| “We’re going to get busy,” Ron Reinhardt declared as he rushed through the door into the warmth of the one-room storefront around lunchtime Monday. “People who are stuck at home with nothing to do, they’re going to get a haircut.” | “We’re going to get busy,” Ron Reinhardt declared as he rushed through the door into the warmth of the one-room storefront around lunchtime Monday. “People who are stuck at home with nothing to do, they’re going to get a haircut.” |
| That’s why Reinhardt, better known as “Ron the Barber,” had spent an hour waiting for two Metro trains to ride in from Southeast Washington to 14th and L streets NW. Five people had called to make sure he’d be there to cut their hair. | |
| They needn’t have worried. | They needn’t have worried. |
| “We’re open seven days, and we cut all kinds of hair,” said his colleague, “Blair the Barber,” who had already attended to one customer that morning. “People from the community, people from the hotels, travelers. That’s why we’re here. Tell her, Ron, tell her. Do we ever close?” | “We’re open seven days, and we cut all kinds of hair,” said his colleague, “Blair the Barber,” who had already attended to one customer that morning. “People from the community, people from the hotels, travelers. That’s why we’re here. Tell her, Ron, tell her. Do we ever close?” |
| “Only for bomb threats and earthquakes,” Reinhardt said. | “Only for bomb threats and earthquakes,” Reinhardt said. |
| “Christmas?” | “Christmas?” |
| “I was here,” Reinhardt said. | “I was here,” Reinhardt said. |
| “New Year’s?” | “New Year’s?” |
| “I was here.” | “I was here.” |
| “Birthday?” | “Birthday?” |
| “I was here.” | “I was here.” |
| With cherry-red walls, zebra-pattern cutting capes, and an electric bass and guitar standing in the corner, the shop serves some nights as a jam space. On the walls are photos of fades and braids, and the long black hands of a giant clock, circling around. | With cherry-red walls, zebra-pattern cutting capes, and an electric bass and guitar standing in the corner, the shop serves some nights as a jam space. On the walls are photos of fades and braids, and the long black hands of a giant clock, circling around. |
| Reinhardt couldn’t recall a bomb threat in his two decades there, but he was in the shop on the day of the earthquake a few years back. | Reinhardt couldn’t recall a bomb threat in his two decades there, but he was in the shop on the day of the earthquake a few years back. |
| “It was crazy,” he said. “People was running downstairs. We had to pull chairs outside so people could sit down. Ladies were fainting and stuff. People were jumping into cabs. | |
| “It was like King Kong came down here.” | “It was like King Kong came down here.” |
| Blair is from Texas, where it hails but doesn’t get cold like this. And he is bald, so he lacks that layer of insulation to protect him. | Blair is from Texas, where it hails but doesn’t get cold like this. And he is bald, so he lacks that layer of insulation to protect him. |
| He has adapted, though: On the counter, his rabbit-fur hat sat like a coddled cat. | |
| He microwaved some nachos, flicked at his smartphone and invited a visitor to settle into a red vinyl barber’s chair and listen to his favorite musician, the jazz singer Michael Franks. | He microwaved some nachos, flicked at his smartphone and invited a visitor to settle into a red vinyl barber’s chair and listen to his favorite musician, the jazz singer Michael Franks. |
| “I’m shocked you’ve never heard of this cat,” he said. “Close your eyes. I want you to hear it, and I want you to remember this song, because it’s snowing outside.” | |
| Oh, the weather outside is frightful. | Oh, the weather outside is frightful. |
| But the fire is so delightful. | But the fire is so delightful. |
| And since we’ve no place to go. | And since we’ve no place to go. |
| Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. | |
| The aroma of melted cheese wafted through the barbershop. | The aroma of melted cheese wafted through the barbershop. |
| “Ah,” Reinhardt said. “It feels good in here.” | “Ah,” Reinhardt said. “It feels good in here.” |