I have spent the last five months working in a barbershop in Longwood Florida. The name of the barbershop is Waggoner’s and people tend to pronounce it Wagoneer’s. Somehow they see the double g, but tend toward pronouncing the double e. So I started to call it Langoliers. It was hard answering the phone without saying Langoliers.
Well now I am leaving Langoliers and I wanted to say goodbye to the team that I have come to know as sisters in this journey we call life.
To Donna Ciabatonni, I want to say what a pleasure it has been to work by your side. Your energy toward healthy living has definitely had an impact on me and has made me more conscious about what I put in my body. I think about my body in a more positive way as a result of spending time with you. I knew the day I met you that I wanted to be more like you and now I am. Thank you.
To Shannnon Eidem, I know that I have only worked one shift with you in the five months that I have worked here, but I enjoyed working with you that day. You were easy to talk to and I wished that I could have spent more time getting to know you. I feel like I got to know you through Donna and Kelly and from them I heard of you as being a warm friend. I sensed as much when we spent that one day together.
To Kelly Wilson, what can I say? Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, what can I say? Even though we worked together one day a week I feel like I got to know you the best. Your honesty and sincerity is refreshing. Your comfortable way of sitting tells others to just relax. I can remember the day I interviewed and you sat with me in the waiting area in that relaxed state. It made me so comfortable about the transition I was about to make. I’m always in need of an energy adjustment and you really had a way of taming my crazy world. I felt like I could tell you anything and you would never judge me. Thanks for being that.
To Veronica Diaz I say that while you came in on the tail end of my employment here at Langoliers I feel like I got to see you as a great addition. Although you don’t work in the shop you have been an intricate part of our lives in the barbershop. It was great having a Cuban counterpart to talk to on a daily basis. You came in and energized everyone in here. Like a breath of fresh air you got everyone excited about our environment. Thanks for being yourself and encouraging us all to look deep inside to see what we had to offer the world.
To Nick Waggoner, to be bluntly honest after interviewing with you I wasn’t sure I wanted the job. I accepted it only because of meeting Donna and Kelly and the fact that you wouldn’t be working in the barbershop. No offense, but you just didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. I understand that better now that I recognize what your job demands of you, and that you must be a bit hard and detached to survive on a daily basis. As I let you know that I was leaving I saw a different side to you. Thank you for your encouragement in the venture I am about to embark on. It means a lot to me that you actually shared your experience with me that day.
To all you ladies I would like to say that I envy all your lives. I see your long relationships in which you live, love and fight. Your commitment to family was so invigorating. To watch you fulfill what you knew was best for your kids, your partners and yourselves has been a lesson in love and longevity. Your commitment most of all is unbreakable and I have learned from you women to stand strong in what I know to be right.
I will miss you all and I hope that we can all meet again someday on this journey we are on.
You can put the radio back on WMMO, but just remember me when you hear jazz.
Mucho, Mucho, Mucho amor! MMMWA to you all!
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