Sanctifying the Low Fade- The Rosary and the Barber Shop

As I sit down to get a haircut, I go through my normal routines: Make the sign of the cross and ask St. Martin de Porres aka the Patron of Barbers to pray for me, specifically, that the Barber may be granted with the hands of an angel to skillfully and carefully use the clippers and scissors to sculpt my hair and that I do not like either one of these two fools…



She asked me what I would like today.
And I said “A low fade please, 0 on the side and 3 on the top with a line-up”
For those of you who do not know what a low fade is it is a type of haircut that is cut to the scalp from the temple and dips low in the back. The hair is then quickly, but smoothly tapered (faded) into significant length on top. Sorry Fr. Stephen maybe in Staten Island it is called the buzz cut but in the hood’ we call it the downtown fade or the Brooklyn fade.

Before you think—“am I really reading a blog about Ryan getting a haircut but wait there is more to it!”



I know Miss Barber is not a Catholic because on a previous occasion she asked if I was a Catholic because of the enormous St. Benedict Cross I wore! It’s practically the same tree that carried Jesus Christ. Thanks a lot David Portugal. Miss Barber told me she is part of an Apostolic Christian Church. She wears a long blue jean skirt with no makeup and has lengthy hair—very modest. Well as the saying goes, “never trust females when they have clippers in their hands” did I just make that up? So I really didn’t care how modest or Christian you think you are, I am well versed in scripture and I know what happened to Samson’s hair when Delilah (female) cut it off (Judges, 16:19). I politely avoided challenging her faith for the fear of looking like the kids above. I decided to just pray for her.

Most of you know getting a haircut is not the most exciting thing, so today I decided that I would pray the rosary under the cape and offer the rosary up for her conversion ( you should try it). As she removes my cape she saw my hands tightly working the beads. Hehe.

As I get ready to pay she tells me the total is 14 dollars…
“Oops I meant to pull out my debit card instead I take out the Rosary and throw it on the desk as I scramble to take my debit card out of my wallet”

Since the very start of the early Church aka the Catholic Church, we see that the Apostles and their disciples brought the Good news of Jesus to the Greek and Roman world. The members of the Catholic Church primary goal are to win souls and to bring the proclamation of Christ to everyone in the world, as long as you do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). There are many ways on how we can evangelize; I tend to use the more hands on approach, the Rosary. I left her a small little tip for her wonderful job with the clippers and I reassured her that the rest is waiting for her in Heaven. As I thanked her for her wonderful job, I said bye, God Bless and I asked her to pray for me and she smiled at me and said as long as you do the same. My advice: Do not be afraid to evangelize wherever you go, yes, even in the Barber Shop. Do not be afraid to pray the rosary while you are waiting. For it is only with the help of Mary, St. Martin de Porres and Jesus Christ that you could truly sanctify your fade…

Not bad huh?

Pass the beats to the left hand side.

It's almost been a year and a half since I last made a beat, partially, because I left all of my equipment at home. Before I had any form of "official" equipment, I was making beats in the back of my 7th and 8th grade class rooms with pencils. Some of my friends said I had some real talent and I should make a beat for an upcoming rap artist. So I went for it. I bought my fist Korg 16 beat padKontrol and music software and the rest is history. My beats would appear on Mix Tapes and the radio (98.3) and would circuit around mainline producers. Unfortunately, because of the filth that Hip-Hop was saturated in and still is, I decided I no longer wanted to contribute to their false message.

Picture taken Lamar Langston http://www.lamarlangston.com/

After receiving e-mails after e-mails of people asking me if I could please upload a beat, I decided to give a sample. This is rare for me to do because as the saying goes,"a magician never reveals his secret". Here is a video of me making a beat on the spot...



Its funny what inspired me to make a beat again, I was praying the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hrs) and I ran across Rev 14:3, " They were singing a new hymn before the throne of God"... I was like, "I dont think God would mind having a beat to go along with their worship ? haha.

21st Birthday!

On May 3rd I celebrated my birthday by waking up to receive the best birthday gift ever; the Eucharist (Mass in the Log Chapel). Well actually I woke up at 7am in the morning to eat an omelet at South Dining Hall. But that is beside the point.

(Not actual picture of mass on my b day, but it works)

After 2 finals, I took a birthday nap. Followed the nap, Fr. Stephen aka the one who wrote the letter, Brendan, Braydn, Ben and I went to Polito’s Pizza.



And If you are wondering on whether or not I had a drink for my 21st Birthday... YES I DID! A water and a Sprite!

Followed by delicious pizza, we went to pay Fr. Kevin a visit...at Taco Bell?





If you are wondering why a priest was working at Taco Bell, its because he was raising money for scholarship at Holy Cross College...

Followed by Taco Bell, my birthday was topped off by another great present! Laking Kyle Gruber!!! The Men of Old College cornered Kyle Gruber and threw him in the Lake!!!


Kyle Gruber is the one in the middle with the white shirt!

Also, for those who have doubted that I have made the Old College Undergraduate Program a more urban place... Well...



Them sticking up OC gang signs for Old College.. Thanks to ME~ :)

One Swag at a time..