A CHEAPSKATE’S DAY ------ Hugh Murray
I am notoriously cheap – perhaps
not as cheap as I once was, but still cheap.
I cut my own hair. It’s a long
story of how it began, but since the mid-1960s, I have cut my own hair. I was doing research on the old Scottsboro
case of the 1930s in 1960s Alabama, and had driven to the northern part of the
state to see records in Scottsboro, over the state line to Chattanooga in
Tennessee, to Decatur, Ala., through Birmingham, and then to the Alabama
capital city of Montgomery. (Some
maintain that Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird was a fictionalized version of the Scottsboro case. Harper Lee died today.) I did some research in the Alabama state’s
archives, which were located in the basement of the State Capitol
Building. Another researcher told me one
could get a good, cheap lunch in a state cafeteria, so we went there for
lunch. Coming out of the cafeteria, a
short guy with glasses walked up to me and introduced himself by saying, “I’m
George Wallace and I’m running for President.”
I did not recognize him. On TV,
he appeared much taller, and in those days I don’t recall seeing him with
glasses. He was a leading
segregationist; I was an integrationist.
I did not know what to say, and probably appeared to him like an
idiot. I probably just said, Glad to
meet you. He moved on. The other researcher told me Wallace often
appeared there and greeted potential voters.
Another reason I was tongue-tied
was that before the other researcher told me of the nice, inexpensive place to
eat, on other days I had wandered on the main street, Dexter Ave. I had noted Blacks picketing a store, and
asked about it. Next day, I had joined
the picket line on Montgomery’s main street, a few blocks from the state
capitol. George was at that moment no
longer Governor of the state, but his wife, Lurleen was. I had even gone at night to the church to
paint signs for the picketing – it was the church where Martin Luther King,
Jr., had been minister during the bus boycott begun by Rosa Parks. I only picketed a few days, for the store
gave in an promised to hire a Black.
Anyway, I was surprised to see the leading segregationist of that era,
George Wallace by the entrance of the cafeteria.
Because I had picketed on the main
street, I soon faced a problem. I needed
a haircut. This was before I ever tried
to shear my own. I decided I did not
want a segregationist to use a razor on my neck (part of the regular haircut in
those days). So, what to do? I walked about downtown and on a side street
found a small Black barber shop. Walked
in. Others looked at me. Waited.
Barber called me to the chair. He
was very nervous. He held the clippers,
but his hand was shaking. People opened
the door of the shop, “Ooh, what’s goin on here?” I suddenly realized, it may have been illegal
for him to cut my hair. His hand shook
so much, he was not really cutting my hair, but pulling it, cutting a
little. He looked almost like he was
going to have breakdown. I finally told
him to stop. I said I would pay him, and
did so, even though half of my head was uncut.
I returned to my hotel room and used scissors to try to cut my own hair. Next day I bought a small comb-cut plastic
devise. Since then, I have usually cut
my own hair. Last time I went to a
barber was in 2006 in China, and he did not know how to cut my hair either.
Around 1995 there was a nice
bookstore in Milwaukee, and it carried attractive calendars. I bought 2.
I liked the photos. Next year,
instead of purchasing 2 more calendars, I simply used a magic marker, to change
the S,M,T,W,TH,F,ST to W, TH,F,ST, SN,
M, T. So I got to see the nice photos
for another year (one photo a month). I
had to get accustomed to starting the calendar week on a Wednesday or
whatever. The following year, I tried
that again, but there were too many marks at the top and it was just too
confusing, so I had to break down and buy new calendars.
Some people pay to join a gym. Even at age 77, I too need exercise, but rather than pay for
a gym, about once a week I walk 2 miles to the nearest supermarket. The real exercise comes in walking back
carrying a week’s groceries. I could
take a bus, but that is $2.35 for most passengers, but only $1.10 for seniors
like me. Were it icy, and too dangerous
to walk carrying the food, I would take the bus, but most times, I walk both
ways for the exercise. I have often
walked the miles when it was 95 F, 35 C, and once when it was -10 F or -23
C. Brrrrr!
Today, Friday 19 Feb. 2016 I had
planned to do several things but changed my plans. The average temperature for this day in Milw.
Is 34 F, or 1.1 C. One year ago today it
was 5 F, which is -15 C. But today the
high was 57 F, or 13.9 C. I scrapped my
other plans and decided it would be a great day to go to the supermarket. They predicted clouds, but no rain. They also predicted winds from 35 miles per
hour, up to 63 mph! (was the highest wind recorded today, along with trees
blown over, electric wires knocked down, etc.)
With the heavy winds, it did not feel warm at all. I bundled up just like on a cold day. Sometimes I found it hard to walk in a
straight line on the sidewalk, being blown this way and that. Some large trucks were indeed blown over on
their sides. Got to the store. Bought the food. Walking back, it took much more energy
because I was walking against the strong winds.
I really got my exercise today.
