17. Do

I’ve been cutting hair in Haarlem for 52 years, Do (pronounced “doh”) tells me. Some of my customers, I’m the only person who has ever cut their hair.

There are two chairs in Do’s salon. One for cutting. One for washing. He’s always worked alone. It’s easier, he says.

He has an unusual clock hanging on the wall. It displays the time as phrases instead of numbers. Oh that, he says. A couple of guys made it who worked in a clock factory. They were going to start their own business but then the company found out what they were doing and they ran out of money.

I had it repaired recently and the guy said this was probably the last time. None of the parts are made anymore. So whenever it stops telling time, that’s it. That’s it.