Old Arnie The Barber Poem by Kim Barney

Now listen, my friends; I've something to share,
and the news is just as I'd feared:
Arnie the barber has cut his last hair;
the old man has shaved his last beard.

He served his city so well in the past,
as well as more parts of the state.
His friendships were forged, forever to last;
his legacy can be called great.

His shiny clippers have trimmed many men,
from presidents down to myself,
but sadly he will never use them again;
they'll now be confined to the shelf.

It's been two months since my hair has been cut;
It's driving me out of my mind.
Perhaps it is time to get out of this rut
and a brand-new barber to find!

- - - - - - -

I started going to Arnie a year or so ago, when my regular barber was sick. Arnie was over eighty years old at the time, and then he needed surgery on his right shoulder, so he closed up and said he would be gone for 'at least two months'. He never returned.

I have been going back from time to time to see if he was there, but the shop was always closed. Finally today I went into the insurance agency office that shares the same parking lot and inquired about him. They told me that Arnie's wife had passed away, and that he had decided to retire.

I guess, with his wife gone, he didn't see any need to keep on working. Reminds me of an old Johnny Paycheck song, that goes something like this:

Take this job and shove it!
I ain't workin' here no more.
My woman done left me
and took all the reason
I was workin' for …

Arnie used to close his shop in Farmington, Utah, once a week to travel out of town to cut hair for some rather important people. Do you recognize the man in the picture?