From shaving corners in life to shaving heads

Source: Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.迷你倉最平Sept. 20--The only elementary or middle school grade Randy Mitchell didn't get suspended from was fifth, the same one where he learned to read.Mitchell remembers writing on the classroom floor with a permanent black marker thinking, "Boy, I'm going to get suspended for this one."But instead, Yuba Gardens Intermediate School teacher Jim Flurry called Mitchell's grandparents and told them there was an issue at school and the boy needed to stay late."He made me scrub it off before driving me home," remembers Mitchell, who grew up in and around Olivehurst."I had a pretty rough life as a kid," said Mitchell, 34. "My parents were in prison.""Jim encouraged me to do better and kept me busy with sports," the Marysville resident remembers."We need more teachers like him," Mitchell said.Flurry, now a Marysville Joint Unified School District board member, said he refused to suspend Mitchell because he knew he wouldn't learn if he was at home."I wanted to make a difference in Randy's life," Flurry said.Getting high, drunk and involved in gangs began in junior high, Mitchell said."I was a real angry kid," he said. "I was angry at the world."A high-speed chase and fighting are two of the many reasons Mitchell said he spent time in juvenile hall."I was really into sports, even when I was in trouble," Mitchell said.During his one year of high school, Mitchell played middle linebacker on the Marysville High School freshmen team."I liked to bring the pain," Mitchell said.The fork in the road came in the Yuba County Jail after Mitchell, 18 at the time, had been arrested on a felony count of discharging a firearm after he says a man pulled a knife on him.Mitchell remembers his grandfather's firm words during his jailhouse visit."Do you want your child to grow up like you grew up?" Ralph Mitchell asked. "Any knucklehead can go around and fight and shoot. A real man gets up every morning, laces his boots up and goes to work and provides for his family."Mitchell went back to his cell and thought about what his grandfather had said."My whole life I was told I'd be in prison just like my parents," Mitchell said. "I saw the lifestyle I grew up around and decided I didn't want that for my child."He got out of jail just in time for the birth of his first child, a baby girl who was born on his 19th birthday.------Conducts business in 'old school' mannerThinking back on the neck and hand massage 34-year-old Randy Mitchell got as a youth while sitting in a Marysville barber chair still brings a smile to his face."My grandpa used to bring me here to get a flat top," Mitchell said.Fast-forward 20 years, and now Mitchell, who purchased the barbershop two years ago, is busy putting smiles on his clients' faces using scissors, clippers and that same electric massager.Mitchell said he likes to do things "old school.""We use hot towels, hot lather and a straight razors," Mitchell said about his walk-in only business, Upper Cut Barber Shop in the 300 block of Third Street in Marysville."I set real high standards for the quality of haircut," he said. "We ta迷你倉e our time and give the best haircut you will ever have."Mithcell said the best part of his job is seeing people who are having a rough day walk away happy after a haircut."You come in and get a haircut and shave and you feel better," Mitchell said. "It does something to a man."Victor Villatta, 21, an airman at Beale Air Force Base who has been getting his hair trimmed weekly for the last four months, said no one cuts his hair the way Mitchell and his employees do."You give them an idea of what you want and they give it to you, but they make it 10 times better than you thought it would look like," Villatta said. "Here, you can actually have conversations, which makes it a legitimate barber shop."Sixth grade is when Mitchell says he started giving bowl cuts to friends and his younger brother who is taking classes to be a barber and will soon be Mitchell's apprentice.Their grandparents raised the boys, as their parents were often locked away in prison."My grandparents were really hard-working people," Mitchell said. "They instilled a good work ethic in me," and "they were always there for me."His grandmother, Elizabeth Mitchell, 72, of Olivehurst, said, "I'm very happy and so glad that he is getting ahead and making something (of himself). He is a good-hearted man."Mitchell was the only barber when he opened his doors, but has added four additional barbers, and the business is expected to continue to grow over the next few months."We've lost customers because we are so busy, " Mitchell said.With help from skilled friends, Mitchell has already torn down the wall to the adjoining business and will be effectively doubling the square-footage and capability once construction is complete in the next month or two.An additional five barbers and chairs will be added along with a pool table, a video game area and free Wi-Fi Internet.------A cut, a shave and a storyThe barbershop is where Randy Mitchell does some of his best work, but instead of using scissors, he is sharing stories and words of encouragement."We aren't just cutting hair and making money," Mitchell said. "We are helping change peoples lives by being a good influence."Mitchell, 34, says he can relate to many teens today because of his rough childhood that included participating in a gang, drinking, using drugs, spending time in juvenile hall and having parents in prison."That lifestyle only gets you two places. Either prison or dead," Mitchell said.The Marysville father of three said he wants those growing up with a similar story to his to know that they decide where their life takes them."I challenge the kids to do something positive," Mitchell said. "I tell them not to be a follower in life."As for his own kids, Mitchell says he is raising them in a different environment than he was raised."I try to show them that you can overcome anything in life," Mitchell said. "My goal is to give them a better start to life then I had."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) 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