Haircut for a Poem

Pilgrimage to Vaughn Acord

The barbershop is the heart of the community. One of the documentaries I saw at Doc NYC back in November, The Barber of Little Rock, follows Arlo Washington as he leads his community from his barber shop and starts the first black-owned bank in the state of Arkansas. Last week, I went to the Museum of Art and Design where a short film called Haircut for a Poem played showing people read a poem in exchange for a haircut. There’s something sacred about the experience of a haircut and the conversation that flows from the salon chair.

Today, I made a pilgrimage to Vaughn Acord. Vaughn is a legend in the world of hair, and he’s a hero to those of us who went to high school with his son Zane and daughter Zoe. He has led a colorful career constantly reinventing himself first as a touring drummer, then as a model, and now as a hair stylist and creator of V76 hair products. His oversized heart and undersized ego make you feel loved and humbled every time you see him— you’d never know he styled Bruce Springsteen, Bill Clinton, Richard Gere, Tom Brady, etc. Most recently, he worked on the Rolling Stones photo shoot with Mark Seliger for their new tour.

Vaughn and I often end up talking about his son Zane, lead singer of The Thing, who’s also one of my favorite people in the world. My first memory of Zane in high school was on JV soccer when our coach, Mr. Hart, would bring his dog to practice and tie the leash around his waist. Every time Mr. Hart barked some orders at us, Zane said not loud enough for Mr. Hart could hear, “Ok leashbelt” and “You got it leashbelt.” Everyone started cracking up laughing, and Mr. Hart interrogated what’s going on! Zane said, still not loud enough for him to hear, “Sir, you’re wearing a leash as a belt. No one can take you seriously.”

a new look

I always leave my haircuts with Vaughn with some nuggets of wisdom and a good feeling in my bones. I asked Vaughn if the Rolling Stones tell him how they want their hair to look. He said not if they don’t have to. They’re just there to be themselves. Mick is just there to be Mick. Vaughn’s job is just to help him be Mick. I imagine that Vaughn’s magic and success must come from his ability to listen deeply and help people be seen as they want to be seen rather than project his own ideas onto them.

Mick Jagger is 82, Biden’s age. I remarked that I was surprised that all the Stones have aged well enough to keep playing. Vaughn said, “They play music. That’s what they do.” I guess you don’t retire if your career also happens to be what you already just do.

We talked about the business side of music. I got to thinking I ought to do everything in my power to give my next adventure the opportunity to have financial success. There are so many people that inevitably help with these adventures. A physical therapist gets inspired and offers to fix me up for free. I meet a nice family that hosts me for a week to help me recover from an injury. While people genuinely want to help and provide assistance unconditionally, I still want to have the means to give back or unconditionally pay it forward.

I had dinner with my friend Danny Mitchell tonight, and he told me the greatest impact the Canada adventure had on him was that it restored his faith in humanity. He reminded me that I originally set out to find the good in humanity when I started running in the winter with no real idea of where I’d end up. Now that I found it, I’m most interested in building something capable of giving back. It could be as simple as listening and amplifying people’s stories on video.

Helen Davis, who hosted me in New Denver, British Columbia, and is herself an accomplished singer, shared with me the rest of the George Bernard Shaw quotation I excerpted yesterday. I was moved to the point that I wanted to post it again in full today:

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It ia a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.