The Boston Barber Bard of Beacon Hill and the Bartered Bride

The barber on Beacon Hill quoted from the poem "How shall I love Thee?" as he cut my hair.  He spoke also rather philosophically about the Azores, where his grandparents were from, about God, and life - he was a bit of a philosopher.  I got a little uncomfortable once or twice as he admired and complemented my hair.  It was slightly worrying, as he said "if you look good, I look good", speaking Portuguese, as he cut my hair, sat in his small, wood paneled barbers, with memorabilia from the Titanic hanging on the walls.  "John's Hairstyling Shop" .  It was a different experience from the usual.

That evening we get free tickets to Cutlers Majestic Theatre in Boston for the Opera, "The Bartered Bride" by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana; a story of love, an arranged marriage, greed, contracts, the circus, and a bashful bear.  Set in Spillville, Iowa in 1934 during the depression, magically transported from Czechoslovakia in the 19th Century, and translated to English.  A happy ending, and a great circus sequence in the middle.