Girlie Friday

When I moved back to New Jersey, after years of city life, I needed to find a new place to reheel my shoes, a guy who could de-clog the sink, and I needed a new hairdresser. Going downtown was no longer an option.

I drove past a hair salon that looked cool and gave them a call. A gravelly voice woman named Kim answered the phone. I told her that I needed a haircut, but didn’t have a name. She asked what kind of hair I had. I said it was long. She said, “Oh, then you want Lenny.”

One week later, I came into the salon where Kim greeted me at the front desk. She was a deep brown color with heels and tight jeans. Kim directed me to Lenny’s chair.

Lenny cut my hair for ten years. While he was flat ironing my curls, he told me stories. He began cutting hair back in the 60’s, against his Italian father’s wishes. And then he managed to combine some serious partying with serious haircutting for decades. He got high with Keith Richards. He owned salons across the country. He lived very hard. When I met him, he was still extremely high energy, almost frenetic, and intense. Chain smoking in between clients. Oh my God, this man loved hair. He was wiry, skinny with black clothes from St. Mark’s Place in Manhattan. Tattoos covered his arms.

How did this guy end up at salon in New Jersey? Yes, it was a hip salon. But it’s New Jersey. What happened to the chain of high-end hair salons? There must have been issues. Now he was in New Jersey. He found God. And five years ago, he settled down with a nice woman.

There’s such a fine line between living intensely, passionately, without concern for stupid rules and dying with needle in the arm.

Lenny died last week from a heart attack. And I’m rather sad. So, this Girlie Friday is devoted to Lenny.

 Alex and Ani bracelets. You have to wear at least three at one time.

A basic black t-shirt.

Life by Keith

FRYE Women’s Carson Ring Thong Sandal

Boy-friend jeans from J. Crew.