Summer Update: 2 weeks, 0 haircuts later.  Can't say the same for Brendan.

When they fall, they fall hard.

Don't worry, Ben, I'm holding out.  Boston Strong.

I haven't thoroughly tested this hypothesis yet, but I'm pretty confident that longer hair makes me look more approachable to complete strangers on the T (subway).  Living in the city gives me hundreds of opportunities to encounter folks I'll never see again in my life, and recently I seem to be a magnet for the tourists who have questions.  The good news: I'm basically a Boston guru by now.  Test me, I dare you.  The bad news: I'm not sure why I'm suddenly the most approachable person in public these days. I attribute it to the longer hair. It must soften my otherwise highly judgmental expressions.  Here's some highlights from the last two weeks:

Taryn:

Who: 21-year-old student at UMass Amherst. 

When: 11:30pm on a weeknight

Where: Government Center station

Why: Although she is born and raised in Boston and now attends college in the area, she couldn't figure out how to make it to Park Street.  

Fun fact: Turns out we were one stop away.  Since I was going through Park Street to get home anyway, we became riding buddies for the surprisingly long journey. 

Fun fact: She asked me for my phone number (first time since the infamous Collis Spanish-erotica girl incident of 13S). I deftly avoided giving it to her by providing my twitter handle instead. (Public Service Announcement: Follow me! Especially you readers from Saudi Arabia. I know there's 2 of you. Plus, if you have any jobs in the energy industry for me, hook a brotha up.) Anyway, now @babyt31392 has access to 292 retweets of Economist articles and Earth Pics.  Teaches her not to pick up strangers on the subway.  How do you like them apples?

Tom and Elizabeth:

Who: Sweet British couple

When: 11am on a Saturday

Where: Immediately outside my apartment, holding up a map of the T 

Why: Needed help getting to the mall.  They were oh so close.  And the subway map wasn't really going to get them very far at that point anyway.  

Fun fact: Turns out they were actually from New Zealand. I thought it was a safe bet to call them Brits after they referred to it as "the tube".  I was mistaken. 

Unknown Man:

Who: See above.

When: In the organic chips aisle at Shaw's

Where: Today

Why: Needed assistance getting to the sugar aisle.

Fun fact: I'm not sure why I always end up going down the organic foods aisle.  There's no chance I'm ever going to buy a bag of locally-grown granola for $16. Normal granola is healthy enough. Honestly it's probably because there always seem to be cute girls on that aisle.

So would these lovely encounters cease if I got my hair cut? Hopefully we'll never know. 

Case Study

I would now like to illustrate yet another reason Ben's cuts are superior to all others. Please take a minute to review this photograph from early May, 2012:

Can you guess who is the odd man out?

At this point in time, only two of the three gentlemen shown were customers of Ben's.  While it may be apparent to you, faithful reader, which of the three that is, I will further investigate the scenario by looking at other photos from that night.  

Subject 1, on the right in the original image, appears to be in the company of an attractive woman here. It is our guess that this came exclusively as a result of his solid haircut.  Also, note the patriotic background.  Subject 2, from the middle of the original image, also ended up doing well for himself at the party. However, it appears that Subject 3 had tough luck with the ladies that night, although his lady's hair does match her dress.  

Let this be a sobering reminder to each and every one of our followers.  Never, ever go to a formal without having Ben style your hair first.

Reason to Wait for Ben #1

Summer can be hard.  Hot and humid weather begs for short hair.  But, unless it's Ben's sophomore summer (which it isn't), then he won't be located on campus.  This leaves most of us with three options:

1. Get it cut "professionally"
2. Wait out the storm until fall
3. Visit Ben

Option 1 is clearly out. If you really need proof, see below.

Option 1 is clearly not the right choice.

Option 2 is a tough one.  Most of us tried to time our spring cuts so that we got our final shave just days (or hours) before departure from campus.  Maybe we can ride that wave long enough? We'll see.  There's still 10 long weeks until September 16th when fall term starts, so that option is looking shaky.  

Option 3 is also tricky.  While the cut is certainly worth the journey, is Ben willing to take time off from his busy work schedule to dust off the shavers? That's uncertain. 

Therefore, I propose Operation Dirty Water, where we entice Ben to come down to Boston for what he thinks will be a simple Sox game. Upon arrival at the stadium, we will hold his ticket hostage until the necessary cuts have been provided. More details cannot be given at this time.  Check back in for future updates.

Shaun White Cuts Hair?!?

If Shaun White approves of Ben's shop, so should you.

What's that, you say? Shaun's hair is nothing to be proud of? False. His glorious mane was the cumulative result of multiple years of hard work, thousands of hours of helmet incubation, and seventy-five bottles of conditioner.  It was also home to four species of endangered rabbits.

This past Christmas season, Shaun caught the giving bug and generously donated his hair to the Locks of Love. See the #selfie below for a glimpse, and check out the full video here.

Shaun takes Ben's advice to donate to the Locks of Love organization.

So, loyal readers, remember to be like Shaun and shred it out there in the pipe.  And when you're done with that, come visit Ben's Bodacious B-shop to keep it clean during the off-season.

P.S. Ben's a pretty good stylist, doncha think?

Post 1

Barber Ben's bodacious blog is now officially up and running!  Happy shaving, folks.