Guy Walks Into a Barbershop

The Q needed a haircut. It's 9pm. Problem? Not in Lefferts! I put on my jacket and walk up the Flabenue to see if Nelson is in (on Parkside just off Flatbush). He's out, stuck in Rockaway. Time to see if the doctor's in. Dr. Cuts, that is. Desmond Romeo is Dr. Cuts, and the new president of the Flatbush Merchant's Association, now known as The Flatbush Empire. He's a great guy, I've talked to him a bit and he always seems upbeat and welcoming, and the Q's always enjoyed looking in through the bright floor-to-ceiling windows and seeing guys laughing and jawing sometimes til well past midnight. As a white guy I figured it was sacred space, meant for Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer but not Clark Kent and Clarkson FlatBed (seen them in the same place at the same time? hmmm?) But my buddy Duane encouraged me to break down the wall and bust in on the yuck-fest at Nelson's, so why not try the Doc? My hair has DEFINITELY not been itself lately. You might say it be illin'

Desmond is a true blue philosopher-barber, who just happens to be heading into dentistry. He's finishing up his coursework now to enter dental school. But don't expect Dr. Cuts to turn into Dr. Teeth. He'll be running both practices, though only one will take insurance. Born in Trinidad, he's been a successful business owner on Flatbush for over a dozen years. He's been able to buy a place in his homeland that his mom lives in (must she be proud!) He's been part of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health's program to share information with men who are often much less likely to visit a doctor once a decade than a barber once a week. It's a brilliant idea when you think about it, and Desmond will launch into a treatise on prostate cancer while cutting your locks, and he'll school you just enough that you'll be heading to his colleague Dr. Jellyfinger for a yearly checkUP. That pic up and to the right is a picture of Romeo speaking at an AAIUH gala.

And if the question on your mind is, can he cut a white guy's hair, I'll let the pictures below be your guide, the first taken earlier this evening at an open mic night and the last taken just moments after returning home:

BEFORE

AFTER