"I'm not like a lot of people, I don't hate Bakersfield. I don't know why everyone rags on it so much. It's actually a great place to live. I thought about maybe moving somewhere else a couple of times but why should I? I have everything I need here. It's not fair that everyone is so down on Bakersfield all the time..."
I was at Supercuts and my "stylist" was getting a little worked up. Agitated. Angry even. The fact she was trimming my eyebrows at the time left me holding my breath. For a second I thought I might lose an eye for somehow besmirching Bako's honor. And I hadn't even said anything other than "so are you from Bakersfield?"
I've discovered from previous visits that if you engage in a little small talk you get a better cut. I've also learned never to mention I'm relatively new to town. It inevitably leads to "so how do you like it here?" and I'm not a very good liar.
I'd made it pretty much through the cut unscathed when she started talking about the fact she and her husband had just purchased their first home. That's when I asked the dreaded "so are you from Bakersfield?" Her mood turned instantly dark and the storm clouds moved in. At first she was defensive, then indignant, then angry.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
My God these people are touchy and thin skinned. They get so quickly riled up at any perceived slight to Bako it leaves me suspiciously believing whatever it is must be true. Us outsiders, always walking on eggshells.
To her credit, she quickly calmed down. She admitted she's really more a small town girl and proceeded to tick off all the things she hated about the big cities she'd visited - LA, San Francisco... Fresno.
"I'm really more of a rural person..."
Funny, I didn't really get that from the cropped, spiked black hair, the combat boots, the nose ring or the tattoos. To me that didn't say "I'm a Little Bit Country..." Then again, I've never been much good at reading people.
She said the house they bought was on the "outskirts of town", which in reality could be anywhere. This town is nothing but outskirts. Even downtown looks like it belongs on the fringes of a better city.
Mercifully our time together came to a close. I hate to admit it, but Lil' Miss Ticking Time Bomb gave me one of the better cuts I've gotten since I've been here. All the same, I doubt I'll seek her out again. As much as I appreciate a little style, I'm not willing to die for it.
