Charlie's Barbershop

Charlie's Barber Shop, Naugatuck Avenue, Milford, CT.

When we moved to Milford all those years ago, we lived for a short time near Walnut Beach. That's when I found this barber shop a few blocks away. So pretty much that is were I have been going for a haircut every month (well, except when I worked in NYC).

Walk-ins only (no appointment); Charlie is the only barber (but he does have a substitute for when he's away). He does hair cuts and shaves, no styling or shampoo as far as I know. I don't know exactly how old Charlie is but I saw something that said he's been in business for more than 50 years.

Ironically, Charlie lives in the same town as me but we both have to go to Milford for the barber shop. If you have to wait, he has the local paper and a NYC paper plus magazine: Popular Mechanics, National Geographic (my favorite), and various car and golf magazines. Sometimes, there are some interesting conversations going on: sports, religion, politics, and current events. Charlie is a big Boston Fan (Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics) and a golfer.

Today, Charlie told me about the time he and a customer were engaged in a discussion about religion (Charlie is RC) when another customer came in to the shop. This customer was holding a large grinder (that's a sub sandwich for those outside of New England). He asked if he could eat it while waiting for his turn. Being a down to earth guy, Charlie said sure.

So this guy carefully unwraps this fabulous sandwich: it had the works and was super size. Meanwhile, Charlie and the other customer are debating religion. Something prompted the sandwich man to chime in: "Aw, you guys are nuts. Don't you know there is no God?" And as he said this, he made a dramatic wave of his hand to emphasize his point but simultaneously knocked his grinder off the table and onto the floor filled with a day's worth of hair clippings. Charlie and the other guy cracked up laughing at how God had intervened so perfectly to demonstrate that, yes, there is a God.