Too Busy To Notice

Have you ever been so busy you can hardly keep your head above water?  You go through the day with your mind fixed firmly on what needs to be done next, where you need to be, what has to go to the top of the list.  Oh, yeah.  We've all been there.

There was a time my job required a lot of driving, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I did speech therapy in several rural/small town nursing homes.  The drive between locations helped clear my mind and put me in focus for the next client.

But all the travel meant longer days at times and that meant less time to plan for the necessities of life.  One of those necessities was getting my hair cut.  I've always preferred shorter cuts for myself.  But sometimes the cut would get a bit long and shaggy and when the realization hit I wanted it done now while I was thinking about it.

Driving down Geyer Springs Road one day I saw a shop in a mall with the welcome sign:  We take walk-ins.  It was fate.  They had a break in customers and I needed it done now so I could get back on the road and head out of town.  I popped in, got the cut, and off I went, pleased with the outcome and with the personality of the barber.

I went back several times before I really read the name of the shop:  Barber and Gun Shop.  Yep.  That's what it was.  He sold guns out of the back of the shop.  It must have been legal since he had the sign printed right up there on the shop for all the world to see.  And yes, he did sell a few guns while I was sitting in the chair.  And it tickled my fancy to make use of an unusual business.

When he moved he closed the gun shop, but he was still the entrepreneur.  Now he bought and sold used motorcycles.  So I saw a few bikers come and go in the new shop location from time to time.  He still did a good job with the cuts and I was always happy with his work.

I don't know if he's still in business or not.  We left the area many years ago and I had to find a new place to get my hair cuts.  I do like where I go now, but it seems a little tame at times.

What about your?  Have you even used an unusual enterprise that gave good service but perhaps had a quirky side to the business?  I'd sure like to know.