I sat down in the barber chair and Joe draped the gown around me. He’s an elderly but hale Italian man who’s been lowering ears at Elveden House Barber Shop since the early 1960s. Usually very talkative, Joe was uncharacteristically laconic on this particular occasion so I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been on my mind for several years:

“Say, Joe? How'd you end up in Calgary?”

It was as simple as that, and I didn't really say another word for the next hour as Joe's story unfolded. (My haircuts usually take less than 30 minutes, but Joe often stopped to gesticulate, ponder a date or silently reminisce).