Last week, I got to talking about other people’s feet with my hairstylist.
The previous woman, who had cut my hair for years, graduated from Duke University and UNC Law. Realizing that she had spent her entire life in a privileged bubble — “a bubble bath,” she once said — she decided to take a gap year and go to cosmetology school. The plan was always for her to return to a lucrative law firm, but it turned out that she had a talent for cutting hair and enjoyed the banter with her regulars. She married one of them and moved away to live happily-ever-after. And I needed a new hairstylist.
Over the years, the salon has expanded into the building next door and opened a spa as well. It is much harder to get an appointment, so I signed up with the newest employee.
As she snipped away, I asked if she also worked in the spa. She explained that she had enough business cutting hair to pay her bills, but in her previous job, she had done manicures and pedicures. I replied that it must be “interesting” to work on other people’s feet.
“You really get to know someone,” she chuckled.
Many of her former clients were elderly and couldn’t reach their own toenails. The nails would grow thick and, as she clipped, pieces would fly into her hair … once into her mouth!
As a pastor, I work with many elderly folks. But no toenails. The truth is that I’m squeamish about foot-washing, although it is a Christian ritual.
Still, I recognize the importance of foot care and, even more, of the gift of paying kind attention to someone. I told her that I thought what she did for those people was beautiful.
She shared that she still drives back over three hours round trip to give home pedicures to her former clients.
After she finished with my hair, I gave my new hairstylist a big tip.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of “Little Big Moments,” a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and “Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems.” Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
