LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The coronavirus pandemic has caused people to lose their jobs, fall ill and mourn their loved ones.
Warm smiles that help people get through tough days are now covered in masks.
Comforting hugs and congratulatory handshakes are deemed dangerous, and businesses are shuttered.
Guitar-playing Los Angeles barber Freddy Martinez, whose business took a hit due to Safer-At-Home orders, is now spending nights in his shop due to the virus.
Glendale barbershop owner Freddy Martinez playing a guitar inside his shop after his business was forced to close down due to the coronavirus pandemic (courtesy: CBS)
He and his wife worked out the sleeping arrangement — with him staying at the barbershop and her staying at home with their younger daughter who has a medical condition — so that at least one parent can stay healthy.
“I’m the one that goes and gets the groceries, buys the medications and do the errands and I figure it’ll be safer,” Martinez said.
His life has been upended by COVID-19, but he says despite all the things that this virus was poised to take from him, he’s seen his community come together on his behalf like no other.
His clients, who typically give just a few dollars plus tips for a haircut, began paying for their haircuts in advance.
They look at Martinez, their longtime barber, as a friend and mentor in the community.
“He is a barber but he’s almost a spiritual advisor,” Brendan Brady said.
To his community and clients, Martinez is a giver.
(courtesy: CBS)
“He helps strangers. People just come by his place and he’ll share whatever food he has with them,” Brady said.
Martinez says about a dozen clients have paid him in advance — one of them for two years’ worth of haircuts.
“This coming month, I was pretty worried what was going to happen and then like angels, they started coming over and helping me out,” Martinez said.
He says the generosity has allowed him to make his bill next month.
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