So many good and committed people come and go from this strange place we call a world, enriching thousands of lives in the process.
Bob Cherry of Springdale and Tommy Wright of Harrison could very well be among them.
For 45 years Bob stood on his feet as barbers do, trimming, counseling and sometimes even listening to one person after another relate joys and sorrows. It boggles my mind to imagine the number of shaggy heads he clipped and all the friends and acquaintances Bob made across the decades in his busy shop on Huntsville Avenue called The Stylist.
Yet, as with all our lives, the time came when Bob could no longer do the job he'd perfected and loved. Some said the man in his day could cut a person's hair perfectly in the dark.
His memory began to fail about five years back. The slip began with little slips of recollection here and there. Those lapses accelerated over time, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.
I met Bob, now 74, while lunching with the clients at what's become a favorite place to spend a lunch hour: Flippo's Senior Social Center in Johnson.
I'll sometimes come to break bread with the center's clients just to listen and learn. I enjoy the company of those who have lived interesting and fulfilling lives. Well, being fully honest, there are the home-cooked meals, too.
This home, converted into a privately owned day-care center for those with cognitive disabilities, has become Bob's daytime home three days a week. And he's been a welcome addition to his group of about a dozen new friends. I enjoy getting to know each of them and learning about the interesting lives each has led. I also can appreciate, despite their ailments, how much wisdom they still share.
Afterwards, we adjourned to the gazebo in the garden alongside the fish pond to sit in the shady breeze and chat about life. And he carried on a conversation without missing a beat.
Bob's wife of 34 years, Bonnie, told me that while he seldom recalls what he did or ate that day when she picks him up, he enjoys being among friends each day. That's nothing new for Bob. He barbered in Fayetteville during the 1960s before opening his Springdale shop. Back in those days, he trimmed the locks of men like Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. Some customers even followed Bob up to his new place.
Bonnie said her husband has always been outgoing and friendly. "But he'd rather talk than listen," she said with a laugh. She said when they were dating nearly four decades ago, Bob showed her a picture of him in the Razorback yearbook when the Beatles made longish hair popular with males. The caption beneath read: "Hair stylist Bob Cherry says it's not how long you wear your hair, but how you wear your hair long."
I have no doubt that many reading today in Washington County invariably remember Bob as the man who once cut their locks, listened to their stories and offered his opinions. Some likely wonder what happened to the man who once was their favorite barber.
"He's had some other medical issues with his breathing lately, but he's doing all right for now," Bonnie said. "I picked him up the other day and asked what he'd had for lunch," she said, smiling. "He looked at me and said 'chocolate.' Well, I knew better, so I asked what about the vegetables and meat. He said 'quit arguing with me.'"
Bob apparently still has a razor-sharp sense of humor.
Then there's Tommy
At the other end of life's continuum is bright and vibrant Tommy Wright, about to enter his senior year as a business major at John Brown University in Siloam Springs. Tommy's glass is always half-full. I seldom see him without a smile spread across his youthful face.
And it's impossible not to feel the 21-year-old's palpable energy and upbeat attitude. While only a sophomore athlete at JBU (Tommy plays on the school's golf team) he was chosen by the membership of the Champions of Character association to receive their annual award honoring a male student athlete who best exemplifies the group's five character goals: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. He's since become the leader of that organization, as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at JBU.
This summer, he's been a coach for the First Tee program in Lowell, working with young boys and girls to teach the sport of golf and the demands it places on one's character.
Most recently, Tommy was seated beside me at the darned-near-legendary Terry L. Gilliam Memorial Golf Tournament in Huntsville, named for the popular Huntsville athlete who died in Vietnam. Sixty-one teams competed in this 21st year of the benevolent event, raising thousands of dollars to fund scholarships for exceptional local athletes with the qualities Tommy displays.
Mostly when we partner together, I just watch slack-jawed as Tommy regularly hits his white ball darned near out of sight. But I get the most enjoyment from having some of his exuberance rub off on me and in knowing what a bright future lies spread before him.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.
Editorial on 07/15/2014