While I was drawing this, a woman approached me and said- ‘You know, I saw you drawing near here last week and I just love your look.’
I looked down at the tattoos on my forearms, my lint-covered black velvet shorts, the 8-dollar slip-on shoes, and wondered how I could possibly have a look anyone could like when I hadn’t showered for 2 days.
“I’ve just got a role on a new TV show,” the woman said, taking out her iPhone, “I play a prisoner, and your look is perfect for it. Can I take your photo for reference?’
I didn’t know what else to say so I said sure.
After a few moments fiddling with her iPhone, and me wondering what time GAP opened, I stood up and moved into the full shade, where the woman had directed me.
‘Do you want me to look mean,’ I asked the woman, feeling awkwardly criminal, ‘and put my hands on my hips or anything?’
‘Yes,’ said the woman, ‘that would be awesome.’
‘Do you want me to do a snarl on my face?’ I said, putting my hands on my hips and leaning menacingly to the left, ‘I can look tough if you’d like,’
‘No thanks,’ said the woman, ‘your natural expression is enough.’
Then, while I pondered just how vicious I must normally look, the woman stopped taking photos and told me how much she liked my haircut.
‘I love your haircut,’ she said, ‘it looks so good so short,’
I thanked the woman and she said that it was her pleasure and that she’d really like a short haircut like mine.
‘I got this cut at Fantastic Sam’s,’ I told the woman.
‘Oh, yes,’ she said, recognizing the name of the chain of stores where cuts can be had cheaply.
’17 dollars,’ I told her, ‘I went in there and pointed to a picture of a man on the wall and asked the Armenian stylist to please cut it like that, but make it shorter on the sides and not quite so mannish.’
‘Well, that stylist did a fantastic job,’ the woman said, smiling.
‘Well,’ I said with a big grin, to the woman who would soon be playing a prisoner based on my ‘look’, ‘that’s probably why it’s called Fantastic Sam’s.’
A Hundred Houses 