As Gene settled in at Salon 1500 we worked side by side. His intense attention to detail on all levels was invaluable for someone like myself just starting in the hair business. As I think about it now, I might have been his first “student”. We spent many evenings, when our schedules allowed, going over the technique involved with a certain cut. Often it was “hands on” cutting sessions which I credit Gene for his enthusiasm and generous sharing of his acquired skill. The Universe lined up once again. I do not believe in coincidences... some things were meant to be. “Thanks” to Gene Juarez for that awesome time we spent together.
I was going through some old photos looking for people who influenced me in one way or another, and came across a photo of Lester Haag. Lester lived just around the corner from the salon and did some cleaning for the hotel. I think perhaps Mabel might 
have recommended him to me. Lester was a bit scruffy on most days, a lot scruffy on some days, however he was a very special human on all days.
He became my official janitor and remained with me for at least 10 years until he passed; I had the honor of holding his hand while he took his last breath. Lester took cleaning very seriously and was willing to point out obstacles which could be eliminated and make his efforts more effective. While we were at Salon 1500 his cleaning was fairly simple. However, when we moved downtown, next door to I. Magnin on 6th Avenue, we went from approximately 650 sq. feet to 5’500 sq. feet. There is much to share about that move which I will include in a later post. Lester had a particular way of doing laundry, putting the towels in the washer that made a difference in the way they would dry... only if you did not overload the dryer, of course. We all loved him and watched out for his well-being.
After working together for almost one year, Gene’s salon at the 801 Tower Building was nearly complete, so we extended the original agreement to month to month. During the last few months we discussed doing a two week intensive training at the Sassoon Academy in London. We decided on the dates that worked best for us and booked our flights. Gene booked a flat in Kensington for the two weeks we were there. Our presence at the Academy was outstanding. I had a particularly great day after we had been there a week or so when the word spread that the man himself was on his way, Vidal Sassoon, was paying an unexpected visit. The entire staff was on high alert, dusting, organizing, and making sure everything was in impeccable order. His actual time of arrival was not certain, sometime before lunch was the information shared with the students. We continued on as usual with our morning routine, preparing for our morning haircut, which consisted of selecting a customer from the women that had chosen to be a model on that day. I greet
ed a thirty something, conservatively attractive woman whose hair appeared to be curly, that turned out to be not the most suited hair type for a “one length bob”, the cut we were attempting to master that day. I escorted her to the shampoo area preparing her for a shampoo.
After testing the temperature of the water for comfort I began to wet her hair. As soon as the water saturated her hair the slight curl turned to a tight curl. I finished the shampoo and conditioning then returned to my designated cutting station. By now I am not sure about the haircut, however I began the cut layer by layer. When I was three quarters of the way finished, the hair was starting to dry. There were ten or twelve of us lined up in a row and I can hear a bit of excitement. Sassoon had arrived! He was slowly walking down the row looking at the work that was being done. When he came to my work station, he stopped and looked me right in the eyes in the mirror and said, “Seattle”. I was amazed he actually remembered me from the Olympic Hotel in Seattle, when I gave him a hand with his luggage and boxes as he was leaving the hotel for the airport.
To be continued...