When I wrote my first report on Emanuel's, I speculated that he was in his eighties and that he had probably gotten his start at a young age in his native Italy. I also mused about what I, and others, who like radically short hair would do when Emanuel decided to close up shop. Just about every barber I've known who would do a military cut to my satisfaction seemed to be approaching retirement age. For a long time, from about the early seventies up until a few years ago, outside of areas with a heavy active duty population, they seemed to be the only ones who could remember the last wave of short hair in the pre-Beatles 60's.

Well, Emanuel it turns out, is indeed 87 and did begin doing shaves, without a license, since none was required, in Italy at 17. After 70 years, he has finally decided to hang up his clippers --- at least "officially". He still plans on being a sometime, part time, barber.

What is surprising, is that after careful consideration of a number of prospective buyers for his shop, (he explained to the local press, where the story became one of those generational human interest stories, that he wanted someone who would meet his standards and at the same time would not leave his customers high and dry), that he chose a very young guy, Tommy, who's only 24 to take over.

Tommy's only been "on the job" now, for a couple weeks, and Manny still drops by frequently, so I think Tommy may, out of consideration for Manny's feelings, be going slower than he might otherwise in making changes. Still, even in a few weeks, a small thing here, another there, tells you this is a shop in transition.

Of course there's Tommy himself. He has a modern taper cut --- full, thick shock of reddish blond hair on top, with an extreme taper to the back and sides. He cuts hair in sweatshirt, jeans and tennis shoes --- in contrast to Manny who most often wore a tie. But other things are different as well.

The ancient cash register Manny used, essentially just as a cash drawer, has been replaced with an electronic one that keeps track of transactions and tallies receipts at the end of the day. A large display case has been added from which Tommy sells a line of grooming aids called Crew. Sports Illustrated, Popular Mechanics, etc. are now joined on the magazine rack by GQ, and Men's Fitness. Although Manny did have a no smoking sign up, he never enforced the rule, and he did keep ash trays around. Those are now gone. Some posters showing more trendy "fashion" styles now adorn the walls.

Manny's hours were Tuesday to Friday, 8-5, and Saturday to 2. However, he was never too careful about maintaining those hours and it was not uncommon for him to simply close down in mid-afternoon if business was slow. Tommy not only promises to be open according to posted schedule, but he is now keeping the shop open till 7 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tommy candidly allows that he is recognizing that his clientele hold real jobs and are not, for the most part, retirees. Indeed, the influx of Tommy's clientele who have followed him from his former location, has altered the character of the place as the age mix in the shop has taken a decided shift downward.

The new shop is going to be called Tommy M's Barber and Styling --- though the sign outside still reads Emanuel's.

Still, for the moment, nothing overly dramatic has happened. The shop still looks like an old fashioned shop with a few incongruous additions. Perhaps that will change as time goes on and Tommy begins to really feel it is his place, not Manny's, but for the moment he's going slowly. Most importantly, and the thing I think most likely to change soon, is that right now he is maintaining Manny's pricing of $6 for a haircut. This is about as low as you can go in Massachusetts (with the oddball exception of the $1.50 jobs in Quincy). While I appreciate it, being a weekly cutter, I suspect that Tommy will inevitably up that to something more in line with the prevailing $8-9.

What is truly remarkable is that Tommy cuts any style of hair. (Perhaps remarkable only to me, I may have been operating under my own set of misconceptions about younger barbers.) Emanuel insisted on finding someone who would be able to accommodate his regulars. That meant someone willing to do a "regular" haircut for middle aged and older guys wanting medium to longish hair without a great deal of styling. Tommy's own clientele appear to be mostly teens, twenties and thirties --- all with some variant of a short, if not buzzed, style. Since the posters of the "fashion" cuts are up on the walls, I can only assume that he does those as well. And, from personal experience, I can attest that he can do a high n' tight, do it well, and do it without any "attitude".

He tells me that he actually considers high n' tight flats something of a specialty, and that he had a number of people who came to him where he worked previously precisely for that reason. A week ago, when I went in, Emanuel was there and I ended up with him by default. I left, not all that happy with the result. Once again, Manny seemed not to listen and to cut hair according to his own agenda. Still, I was happy to have a chance to "break the ice" in meeting Tommy that way, since, as I left, Manny pointed me out to Tom and assured me that Tom could handle my "active duty" version.

Today, I got off work early --- a surprise --- and had the afternoon to myself. The habit of a weekly cut is growing on me, again. I hadn't been doing that regularly for the past year or so. So, I considered my alternatives. There was my regular, Bob, who is convenient, and fast. I could stop by and see Mike in Melrose, for his razor shaving. But ultimately, I decided to give Tommy a shot, not without some trepidation.

As it turned out, while I was waiting, who comes in to simply shoot the breeze, but Emanuel. He looked at me, and pointed to Tom, and said don't you worry, he'll do better than I did. Thank God Emanuel then left, because when I got in the chair I wanted to point out to Tom those things that I didn't like about Manny's cut a week earlier. I told him tighter than Emanuel, higher than Emanuel, and he understood perfectly when I said I liked the top to taper in, from the crown to the deck instead of being perfectly square straight up squared off.

He did go higher and tighter, and --- most importantly --- the deck is as flat and precise as either Bill on Mike in Dennis did for me this summer. Definitely the best flat top barber I know of in Worcester. He's definitely better than Emanuel in the flat top department. . And, a real good military barber as well. Went to work immediately with a close blade angled for maximum cut. As soon as I felt that, I relaxed. I knew he was confident in what he was doing. A high n' tight is not a "pretty" cut, and far too many barbers seem afraid to go to the skin. Not a problem for Tommy, and like Manny, he appears to take real pride in giving a precision "skin tight" cut.

Seems he must have been known, where he worked previously, as good with short cuts, because just before I left, the shop filled up with his clientele -- mostly in their twenties --- and all with some variation on extreme short tapered, crew, or flat.

Sure is nice to know that he's only 24. Someone who'll still be around as my old ones die off. But now, if I could only convince him to learn to use the razor like Mike in Melrose <g> Someone is needed to carry on that tradition as well. After I know him better, I intend to bring up the subject of Mike and see how he reacts to the idea.

There is the problem, as there is in all one-man shops, of potentially long waits. Like Emanuel was, and as with Mike in Melrose, you can pretty much determine the wait by figuring 30 minutes per head. With his new clientele, the shop if busier. Still, if push comes to shove, I'll wait. He's damn, damn good.

Today, I made my second visit to Tommy. He'd asked me the first time I was there if I got cut weekly, but still, I think it surprised him to see me again so soon. Still, if he thought it odd, he didn't let on. Made me feel entirely comfortable.

We got to talk a bit more. I commented that he had not changed Manny's sign, which still lists shaves as part of the repertoire. It was clear that he became nervous. I think he was afraid that I was going to ask for one. He explained that he has left it up there for when Manny is in the shop. He didn't say absolutely, "no", but from what he said, I gather he has had no experience. Last time he did a shave was as a part of his licensing exam. Still, after I have become a regular, I will see, one day, if he is willing to use me as a guinea pig to develop that skill as well. I didn't get the impression that he was opposed to shaving --- and he does do the neck for me and around the ears as well on longer cuts --- I just get the impression that he is genuinely unsure of himself in this area.

He was genuinely taken aback, too, when I correctly guessed which Oster blade he was using. Apparently, had never encountered anyone other than a barber who was familiar with such details. Turns out the closest blade he has is 0000 --- like Phil, he was unaware, even, that Oster now produces a 00000. Still, since most of your readers will never want to experiment with a true active duty, skinhead high and tight, I can still recommend this guy.

The man is super cool. Twice, while cutting me today, he stopped and held up a white towel behind me. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and needed the white background to see what he had done in the mirror. He's precision. Shaving or no, I repeat what I said above --- the man ought to be counted as the best --- BEST --- flattop barber in central MA.

I made my fourth trip, in as many weeks, to see Tom. All I can do is repeat what I've said before, he is one cool dude!!

The subtle changes in the shop continue. It's an old ramshackle place --- space must have been occupied, for one commercial purpose or another, since the 30's. It's hardly "up scale" --- but Tommy's not Manny. A coat of paint, disposal of some of Manny's wall decorations (e.g., an old, 1957 calendar, that must have had some meaning for Manny, but for no one else), and reorganization --- that's all it really amounts to --- but it has changed the character of the place. It looks cleaner, brighter, and more "modern".

I talked to Tommy about it, and he really does care. He doesn't want to turn it into a "salon" per se. Tommy told me that he was out looking for a Manny as much as Manny was looking for him. He was attracted by the "traditional" shop idea, just wanted to update it, some. He's not removing everything that Manny had up --- including a front page of the Boston Globe with the Allies moving on Rome --- he's just combining them with some more modern stuff.

He want's the shop to be primarily a man's place. Doesn't believe in discrimination and is not afraid to do a woman's hair, but still thinks that there is a place where men want to be by themselves. But, at the same time, it is a different kind of man than the ones who frequented the shop in years past. Manny probably never considered, even for a moment, doing anything to order the place, or make it "attractive" --- Tom's not above talking about moving furniture and pictures around "for a look".

Tom's my first experience with the X or Y generation folk. And, I like what I have found. He's turning the place into a "comfort zone" --- there's enough of the old to satisfy older guys, like me, who grew up with rigidity --- and enough to keep people his own age coming in. He's added a mini stereo system, to replace Manny's old radio. On Saturday morning, unabashed, he had a cooking show on the TV. Manny only had the TV on when there was a game, and rarely the radio, for anything else.

Tells me Manny's regulars keep coming. Uncomfortable in part, but having no place else to go. Then, there are people like me, who wanted a particular cut they thought only Manny would provide, and he accommodates them. Finally, there's his own generation, who are moving in.

But, the key here is the fact that the man thinks cutting hair with "artistry" is important. He likes doing it, no matter how "sophisticated" or not the style may be. He's not pushing shampoo and style --- though he will do it --- he is an artist with a clipper, comb and scissors. No attitude from Tom, nothing prissy --- if you come to him with a clear idea of what you want, he works to meet you, minimally half way --- it's your head, your self-image --- he doesn't need to question why you like it. His goal is simply doing what you want, with precision.

Ya, know, I guess that is what Emanuel was all about, originally. Somewhere, in his old age, he lost sight of it.

This last experience with Tom has cemented me as his weekly regular. We'd talked, as I told you, the last time, that the 0000 was the closest of the Oster blades he had. When I went in this time, I told him that that was not quite as close as I like to go. Slightly apologetically, but without hesitation, he reached for the edger ---- which he hardly uses for most guys --- and proceeded to give me the same precision high and tight --- and squared deck -- that he had for the past three visits. Short of my shaver, tightest since active duty.

I know I become repetitive. But I think a barber who likes cutting hair enough to cut it according to THEIR, not his, rules, is super. Tommy understands that some of us like to alter the way they look, from time to time. Manny never did. Most of Manny's customers never really gave much of a thought to the way their hair was being cut --- really didn't care much. The great thing about Tommy is that he would understand if I told him that tomorrow I want to "grow it out" -- and then, come Spring, decided I wanted to go back to skin. You -- YOU --- are absolutely in control when you sit down in his chair. You, not he, defines what is what you want, or what is "right" --- no, no back talk. I got so tired of having it the other way around.

For me, a precision, high and tight, flat has always been my "primo" cut. . Don't think that he would ever do it "to"/"for" himself. But he understands that "no hair" can be cut with the same degree of precision as "fashion cuts". I've abandoned Bob.

I hate the atmosphere of unisex salons with tons of shampoos and the permanent smell. But, I'm happy to have found a "stylist" who is a barber, first!!