I can remember the day quite well. I believe it was September, though i can't be sure. I do know that it was fall, because i was wearing my newly purchased green UPEI"hoodie", or as we used to call them back in the day, "kangaroo" sweater. I had just returned home from the end of a grueling day of classes at Stonepark Jr High School when my mother informed me it was time for a haircut. I grabbed the five dollar bill off the table and headed out the door. I was off to Olands Barber shop in the Save Easy Mall. This wouldnt be the first time that Oland cut my hair, but it would be the last.

If you grew up in Sherwood Prince Edward Island in the 80's, and you are a male, chances are you had your hair cut by Oland the barber at least once in your life. I suppose one could say that there was nothing overly unique about Olands Barber Shop. It was a small, "two seater" operation located in the corner of a tiny shopping mall. As with most barber shops, there was a small waiting area where many of Olands friends would sit among those waiting for a trim and chat about politics, sports and whatever else was going on in the world. There was a stack of magazines in the corner, mainly Sports Illustrated, with a few old comic books for the kids.

The actual barber shop was not that unique, but Oland himself certainly was. I haven't set foot into his shop since the afore mentioned fateful day in the mid 80's, yet i can still picture the man himself. Average height, kinda skinny, big moustache and a fairly tall pompadour type hair style. He wore glasses that were tinted and he kinda looked like he might be one of Elvis's best friends.

Though his looks were somewhat unique, what really makes Oland stand out in my mind was his ablity to multitask. He was always doing 3 or 4 things at the same time, an he always had 3 things in his hands: scissors, a bottle of 7up, and a cigarette. Watching him was like watching some sort of strange barber ballet. He would cut some hair, take a sip of 7up and a drag off his cigarette, all the while carrying on a conversation with everyone else in the barbershop. These are talents that i am sure are dying out with the new generation of barbers.

Anyway, back to that fateful last visit i had with Oland. I arrived at his shop, and flipped through a comic book as he finished up another customers cut. When it was my turn, i took my seat in the big red barbers chair. "Just a trim?" he asked, and i nodded in agreement. This wasn't my first time at Olands, so i trusted that "Just a trim?" meant what it usually meant. For some reason, on this particular visit, "Just a trim?" turned out to mean "How about i cut your hair so that it looks exactly like mine?" When Oland finished up, and swung my chair around so i could look in the mirror, i was stunned, and somewhat horrified to see that i had a pompadour hair cut, just.like.his.

Now, the pompadour style works for Oland. In fact, it works for a lot of people. It's even kind of cool and hip in some rock and roll type circles. For a kid in jr high in the 1980s, the pompadour was probably the worst choice of cut available. I paid the man my 5 bucks, walked out the door, around the corner and pulled my hood up over my puffy new haircut. I walked home, and actually cried. Real tears. When i got home, i headed straight for the warshroom, and stuck my head under the tap to try to wash the pompadour away. It worked, and i was relieved.

I was so afraid that another visit to Olands would result in same cut, that i decided then and there that i would not return.  The next month, when it was time again for a haircut, i decided to make the leap from the barber to a salon, and not just any salon, Barbara Anns Beauty Salon. My reasoning was this: i was a young, single, male, jr high student. I wanted girls to like me. Who better to know what a good haircut for me would be than a woman hairdresser?

It made perfect sense to me then, and it still does now.