A man brought his 8-year-old son into my barbershop yesterday. The boy had headphones on and was staring at the floor. The dad leaned in and whispered, "He’s autistic. He hates the sound of the clippers. Last time, we had to leave halfway through."
The shop was full. Usually, it’s all loud music and "shop talk."
I didn't say a word. I just walked over to the volume knob and turned off the music. I looked at the other four barbers. Without me saying a thing, they stopped talking. They put down their electric clippers and picked up their shears.
For thirty minutes, the entire shop went silent. The only sound was the snip-snip-snip of scissors.
The little boy sat perfectly still. He felt safe. When I was done, he looked in the mirror, gave a tiny smile, and high-fived me.
The dad tried to pay me double. I wouldn't take it.
"We’re a community," I told him. "And today, the community decided to be quiet."
You don't need a loud voice to make a difference. Sometimes, you just need to know when to be still.
Anonymous
A touching tribute video to Ben Herbstreit, one of America’s favorite dogs, who sadly died after a battle with cancer.
“He was my best friend,” - @KirkHerbstreit
🥹🥹🥹