The Best Barber in NYC
David Maksum of Cutting Edge Barbershop exemplifies the immigrant work ethic.
I have the best barber on planet earth.
Let me explain:
I was due in DC from NYC to celebrate New Year’s weekend with my girlfriend and her family. Great! Less than great was the fact that I had let my hair (thank God I’m not bald) degenerate into a bowl cut. How was I supposed to show up looking like an absolute ragamuffin? I was certainly not going to do so! To prevent such a catastrophe from occurring, I sent my one-and-only hair stylist, David Maksum, a message asking when he could fit me into his busy schedule—I’m far from the only resident of Brooklyn Heights who enjoys his services.
Much to my surprise, his wife had just given birth to their fourth child, a son, mere hours before. David was still at the hospital as his wife recovered from bringing life into the world. But was this going to stop him from providing me an immaculate haircut? No, sir! Despite my protestations, David let me know that he would be at his barber shop at 11:30AM, despite traffic. True to his word, David arrived promptly at 11:28AM and got to work immediately. He styled my hair just the way I like it without me having to say a word. I paid, tipped in cash, and we both went on our merry ways: the hospital and Penn Station, respectively.
The point of this story? Work ethic in and of itself deserves praise; it’s right to recognize the good—in this case, the superlative—for being so. Still, this isn’t the thesis of my story; my friend David immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1989 and opened his small business, Cutting Edge Barbershop, in 2013. I’ve been going there since the beginning. David has never ceased to impress me with his skill, professionalism, friendliness, and competitive prices. If the NatCons and other nativists had their blood-and-soil way, I would not be able to call David my friend, my barber, and I would lack this sharp haircut with which to impress my girlfriend. In short, when hard-working immigrants with the chutzpah to leave their homeland to forge a better future in America are prevented from doing so, we lose out on their grit, determination, entrepreneurship, and friendship.