M-whY

Being a sunday, kids were out enjoying their day off. A group of boys were kicking around a soccerball in a nearby lot, a couple girls had drawn hopscotch squares in the dirt. For myself, it really didn't matter what day of the week it was. Today is a weekend, yesterday was a weekend, tomorrow will be a weekend. After sorting out my ride out of Cappadocia, I went to see what Steve was up to.

"Feeling better?"

"Better, but still not good," he admitted. Being ill while on vacation is just unfortunate, but this laid back town wasn't a bad place to be laid up for a few days. We chatted a bit over some tea, and I announced the one thing I wanted to try today.

"Have you seen those berber shops all over town? I think I'm going to get a shave."

"Not me, the blades they use? They make me nervous," Steve declared. Not to be dissuaded, I excused myself and sought out the berber around the corner.

"Shave?"

"Yes, yes," the guy said, and motioned for me to have a seat.

I purposely didn't shave the last two days so I might have an excuse to come here. Towels were draped around my shoulders and some shaving cream was whipped up. Using a thick brush, a foamy beard was painted onto my face. The cut-throat razor appeared, and with my head tilted back, he got to work.

I wasn't particularly worried about getting nicked as he handled the razor the dexterity of someone who did this for a living. Besides, I'm sure I've cut myself worse. A couple times I've driven to work holding a tissue to my lip, hoping to stop the bleeding by the time I reached the office. With each scrape, a strip of facial hair was removed, and within ten minutes, every trace of stubble was gone. Jaw-stinging, lemon scented, aftershave was applied, plus a few sprays of cologne, and the grooming was complete.

Some things I don't like skimping on, and razors are one of them. I've used Mach3 blades for as long as I can remember, because they give the closest shave, just as the commercials advertise. This trip to the berber though, left my face as smooth as it's been since I hit puberty. Sinek kaydi, as locals might say, or translated literally, "a fly would slide".

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!