I  vaguely remember when male barbers had those cologne smelling ships with the red striped poles in front them, they were male bastions run by some guy named Vince, the air was filled with smoke, the talk of sports and politics. Times have changed, my barber is Liz Osterhaud a/k/a Elizabeth LaFlamme Osterhaudt –  a spectacularly larger than life human being exploding with ideas and energy and local news. Liz is a Jersey girl to the core, flamboyant, lots of tude, lots of fun.

She is a transplant, seeming out of place in the country but really right at home. Liz’s shop is out in the sticks of Shushan – her shop is right in the middle of nowhere – but people come from as far away as Albany to have her cut their hair, she is a witch, a psychic and sorceress married to my friend Ben Osterhaudt, who has done so much work on Bedlam Farm One and Two.

Her shop is filled with lamps and mirrors, usually crowded with neighbors, friends and family. Maria and I usually go together, Liz is a great haircutter but more fun than most movies. She and Ben are biological opposites. He is a quite homebody, shy and predictable, Liz is a portable volcano. When I left and she Fiona waved goodbye, this is the portrait I was waiting for.