Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Barber Pole


One of the oldest medical practices, used since the time of the Mesopotamians up to the late 19th century, was bloodletting. It was thought many diseases were caused by an overabundance of bad humors in the blood and letting the blood out would bring cure if not relief.

In medieval, and other times when the vast majority of people were illiterate, signs used to advertise services had to be self-evident and typically entailed objectification of the tools of the respective trade. A wooden shoe announced a cobbler while an iron one a black smith.

For the person who would perform surgeries and bleed you, one would see a stout stick (tightly grasped by the patient to cause the veins to bulge) wrapped loosely with bloodied white(ish) bandages. On top of the stick, one would also often see a round ball representing the basin in which leeches were kept.

Services also offered by these surgeons included pulling teeth and cutting hair. Today, only hair, not veins, are cut by the professionals advertising with a red and white pole (it is thought by many the addition of the blue stripes in American versions of the standard is a tribute to our flag, as well as the color of arterial blood).

When we first arrived at TK, there was only one barber located on the Dutch Kamp Holland and through his monopoly of service, had strange hours of business where at only certain times of certain days would he even cut the hair of American Soldiers.

One of the Soldiers in my platoon made the trip and came back unshorn as he was upset at the perceived lack of hygiene ("He didn't even wash the clippers between cuts!")

So for the first few months we made do with amateur efforts of the one or two Soldiers who brought clippers. A trim to military standards really is not all that difficult if you trim everything to the skin with the top a slightly more coarse stubble.

My stubble was getting longer as I decided to let the Kojak-look go in deference to the sun - even the 45-odd minutes a day I was getting during PT was crisping my shiny skull. The hair down my neck was getting a bit long and generally Neanderthalish in appearance.

When, thank goodness, Ms. Alia Borombaeva, pictured above, along with one or two of her colleagues, made an appearance and set-up shop in our Camp. Now, like CPT Gregory Hayes (seen above), Soldiers in our camp can get our haircut by someone who makes up for the lack of a firm grasp of spoken English, with a keen grasp of scissors and clippers.

Ms. Borombaeva and her co-workers are available from 0700 to 1900 every day and almost always have at least one happy customer getting their hair cut under the barber pole.

S H O U T O U T S

Thank you Kandice Eason of Newman, GA for the letters and great Care Packages; the whole platoon enjoys the items you send and appreciate your warm letters.

Oregon Coast Avid Stampers has provided some awesome home made greeting cards Soldiers can send to loved ones - we do not have access to any cards or stationary, so ORCAS gifts are going straight to use.

Thanks to the organizers and volunteers at Operation Care Package for the mail with Swedish Fish (yum!) and other goodies.

The Shannon Family of Saratoga Springs, NY sent one of the best Care Packages ever! Jerky, biscuits, dried fruits and other healthy snacks - thank you!

Si Tenenberg is a former Marine and a current supporter of troops; Si knows what will bring smiles to those far from home and he along with volunteers from First Baptist Church of San Luis Obispo brought cheer to my platoon with a package of jerky, trail mix and other nice snacks.

Lucile is a 74 year-old Korean War veteran from Haure de Grace, MD who sent me a box full of Lee Child's "Jack Reacher" novels I am greatly enjoying and passing on, one by one, to other Soldiers.

Georgette Johnson has been supporting Corbinistan for some time and her cards, letters and packages are very much appreciated by many Soldiers.

Lastly, to my family, particularly my Mom and sister-in-law Beth, who both send packages on a regular basis - thank you.


3 comments:

  1. Hi Sgt. Corbin. I just found your blog through the AS site and have enjoyed reading all your entries. You are an excellent storyteller with a delightful sense of humor. One of my favorites was about the bazaar. I was in the US Peace Corps in Morocco, North Africa and the Afghan culture mirrors much of what I experienced there. Bargaining for almost everything was expected. If you paid full price, it was a major rip off. Word out was that you should never pay more than half of the original asking price (to get a true bargain, you should pay 1/4 of the asking price). And unlike in America, where when you bargain at an antique show or a garage sale you must not insult the seller by saying an item is inferior, it is expected that you will insult the quality of the selected item and disparage it completely to get the price down in Morocco. The average American is usually uncomfortable with this type of haggling and often winds up paying far more than they ought to for something. Also all negotiations must start with a lot of small talk before you get down to business. Folks who immediately start talking price are considered rude and subjected to a vastly inflated starting price point. Have you had the opportunity to eat with any Afghans in their home? If they are anything like Moroccans, that carries a whole new set of rules! Anyway, thank you for sharing of yourself and taking the time to write here. It is much appreciated. Kathy Cunningham

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Kathy, Thank you for your very kind words and sharing your background. I have never been to Morocco but I would certainly enjoy the opportunity to visit. I will talk about visiting Afghans in a later note. I hope you will continue to read and enjoy. Best regards, SGT Corbin

    ReplyDelete
  3. How to Play Casino: Easy Guide to playing slots on
    Casino games are https://tricktactoe.com/ played by 4 players, the nba매니아 average time they take turns is novcasino around 14:20. The house is divided into three septcasino distinct categories: gri-go.com the house

    ReplyDelete