It seems I've written posts like this about many of my trips. Even if that is the case, I'm writing another one.
I have needed a haircut for many days. I needed one before I left on this trip. And I've been gone for 16 days.
Walking down the streets of Tirana, Albania (which, by the way, Albania has been really cool in the esthetic sense….temperature-wise though: HOT) today I was on the hunt for a barber.
Side note: I have had some really fun and good haircuts away from home over the years. One in Brooklyn a few years back, Indianapolis at a Final Four and one in Bergen, Norway last summer. Shoutout to my guy Rodi.
I wasn't looking for just any barber. I wanted to find an experienced barber. Not necessarily an older person, but I knew what I was looking for and it wasn't a hip, trendy barber of which there were a good many in Tirana.
It seems that the right barber is like finding a cat. They just seem to find you. I passed a barbershop that looked like it might be the one. Walked in. A barber was cutting a man’s hair, no one was waiting and a barber was hanging out not cutting. I asked if they had availability and the response was, “We’re busy.”
No problem.
That wasn’t my barber.
Next, I walked into Eddy's Unisex Hair Salon. Yep. That's the name of it. And I knew immediately I had found the barber I was looking for.
Eddy was in a barber chair tapping on his cell phone. Anticipating that he didn't speak great English, I made the motion for haircut (insert your own image/GIF) and asked if he had availability. In perfect English, he said "Yes, I am available," with a smile.
I sat down and proceeded to be transported into a story of struggle, freedom, and, as Eddy pointed out continually: luck.
Even though I would love to, I'm not going share the details of his story here. Just know I won't ever forget his story, and I'll be happy to share it with you next time I see you. Or better yet, get to Tirana and go see Eddy.
The hair cut you ask?
Amazing. No disrespect to the barbers in my past, but this is the best haircut I have ever received. He took his time. Like really took his time while he weaved his story together. Went around my head many times and produced a result that I’m extremely happy with.
To Eddy, thank you. Thank you for our chat we had in the chair, the time you took with my hair to clean me up, and the chat we had afterwards on the sidewalk.
Powerful doesn't begin to describe my time with Eddy. He reminded me to keep moving forward. That life isn't a straight line. That stepping out, taking risks, good relationships and being myself are key.
I'm on vacation. Travel Brian appeared. I've been away from the routine of my regular life for 16 days, and I got lost in Tirana for 45 minutes with a wonderful human. "Lost" is the best word I can find to describe the feeling I had. Standing on a sidewalk outside of his barbershop lost in conversation. Listening. Relating. Truly feeling someone else.
It took 16 days for me to relax. Don't get me wrong. I've been relaxed in a lot of ways. I've toured. Seen sights. Experienced new things.
But, as I walked away from Eddy, down that Albanian street, I felt lighter. Walking was easy. Looking around was easy. Listen. I get it. I know this likely makes zero sense to you.
But it does to me.
I experienced presence. I was there.
