It was my first weekend in the US and I went to a haircut saloon here. Reluctant as the place was new, but nevertheless need to, as my hair was outgrown. So, went with my friend to a Saloon nearby, awaiting some surprise.
I was not let down, it was a unisex saloon with both men and women..and no separate queue for 'ladies'. All are equal!!!
There were ladies barber, two of them to cut hair, and two to do the manicure and pedicure. The later two were busy fondling their customers' hand and legs!! While the former two gave us a polite smile. What embarrassed me was that there was a huge white mom sitting on a comfortable chair, having her legs waxed; and pedicure while her 10 odd year daughter asking questions on her homework! To the inner side of saloon was a big-fat black woman in her late fifty having her finger nails manicured. Oh boy! I was shy and did not turn my head either side. I pretended to be a well mannered Indian boy..
So the barber who attended me was a 20+ Vietnamese girl moving her electric instrument over my head- left, back , center, forward...she considered it a football field. I left it all to her, as she was doing it in perfection, check on the cuts to the quarter of an inch...well she ran that electric blades for over 15 minutes, and had a satisfied customer smile to her at the end( I gave a blemishing smile!)..and not the least $8 bill.
Coming out of the saloon, I was intriguing to myself, what a global saloon was it..we had a global audience in that place. That’s fine, we live in a shrinking world..but my thoughts were drawn to how did these different people land in this land? The whites, we know were adventurers and they brought with them the black slaves. And we, Indians are 'knowledge workers,. But, how did the Vietnamese, who gave that satisfactory haircut, get into this land of opportunities?
Well...I could fit the puzzle here, they were war victims of the aggression of the sixties. I am told that the conquerors caught a lot of war victims, after the war, and held them in this part of the world. I could see a lot of Vietnamese doing all odd jobs..driving, small shop owners, hair cut saloon etc..and there are well off people too, it a generation that they were here, and all still speak their native language..and English..So, that answered my question of the Vietnamese settlers...so this is a little economy , yet very vast and diverse society.
The economy is tightly controlled and sharpened to improve productivity..this country’s economy is built on the rationale - higher productivity improves the life of its society...as against the asian, arab and oriental way..where the societies are greatly benefited by trading.. Trading was and is the main source of life of the asian and arab people..and this has great influence on the way they think life. Knowledge and Productivity are the tools in this part of the world.
