Why Josh Can't Be Left Alone

The neighborhood barbership had been in the family for 75 years. It had been founded by Grandpa Isaac, a Russian immigrant who had finally opened up his own shop after coming to the US with nothing. He had worked for 12 years as an apprentice, and by the time of his death employed two other haircutters. His two sons, George and Harris, had dutifully taken it over. George, the eldest, had been working alongside his father for a number of years, while Harris had joined on only following their father's passing. The small corner shop continued to flourish as a focal point of the neighborhood's men, and the shop grew to include 6 full time stylists.

George fathered only daughters, and Harris' lone son, Michael, showed little interest in the family business. As the two men aged, the shop's fortune waned. George's daughter eventually married a bright young man named Phil, who was eager to help out his father-in-law, and quickly gained a reputation as a talented barber. But it wasn't his styling ability that proved a boon to his new family. Phil proved adept at business, and successfully expanded the business. It quickly grew, first from 6 to 10 barbers, then 14, until finally the family opened up an additional location, which proved to flourish as well.

Phil had not only restored income back to the family coffers, but had brought a dying name back to life. The numerous cousins now belonged to highly recognized name that was associated with the social warmth and traditional roots of the community. There was one thing that bothered Phil. As a son-in-law, he was bitter that his wife's brother Michael never contributed to the business. Michael came into the store occasionally, but apparently only to collect his free haircut. Michael seemed disinterested in the store's success at best, but didn't seem to have any compunction about receiving his share of the store's proceeds that all the descendents of Grandpa Isaac received. Did Michael want to see the business fail? Michael was a Heller. Why didn't he care about preserving the Heller family name?

Michael had never really held any job of note. He didn't seem to be motivated enough to dedicate any serious time to his career. He had married Michelle, his high school sweetheart, two months after graduating college. Michael and Michelle seemed infatuated with each other, barely noticing the world around them. They had had 6 kids, and both appeared to dedicate more of their time to raising their children than any other cause in the world.

Phil was getting older, and the money wasn't motivating him to expand the family business like it had when he was younger. By this point, his only concern was keeping the family business alive. With no apparent successor in the family poised to take over from him, Phil's stress grew every year as he foresaw the future of the business he had invested his life in. The feelings he had for Michael grew to animosity, as he squarely placed blame for any difficulties the business was having on his brother-in-law.

Finally, exasperated with the thought of having to close the family business, Phil confronted Michael.

"I've put my entire life into continuing the dreams of our Grandfather. I've grown the little shop into a small empire. You seem interested in continuing to be supported by the barbershop, but you don't seem the least bit interested in helping continue to keep the Heller name alive!"

Michael humbly peered into Phil's eyes, and looked off towards a distant tree. He hesitated, as his gaze returned to his brother-in-law, and sighed. No matter how much he knew Phil had enabled him to succeed, Michael knew that Phil would never appreciate the mission their Grandfather had entrusted him with. It was he, Michael, who was now the proud grandfather of a baby Isaac.