A Secret Crush
Tabatha professes her love for Dr. Flavio.
I have a secret crush...on Dr. Flavio. While it is true that he is almost 90 and uses a cane, he also embodies a lot of the traits I value in people in this industry. Flavio loves what he does, in fact he has so much passion for hairdressing and for teaching that at his age he is still showing up to his beauty school every day and walks the floor with the students. But he shouldn't have to. His presence and his legacy are clearly inspirational, but when I arrived at his beauty school, his faculty and students were anything but inspired. The teachers weren't teaching and so the students weren't bothering to show up. The students weren't even passing their state boards. The school's enrollment was down, and Dr. Flavio was in danger of losing his home and his legacy.
How did this school that has been around for half a century go so far down hill? It didn't take long for me to figure out that Tiana, Flavio's daughter who has taken over managing the school, was a large part of the problem. Not only was she hiding in her office all day, but she wasn't holding any of the long-time staff accountable and they had all become lazy and complacent. And then there was Mr. P -- it is safe to say I did not have a crush on Mr. P. He was not only lazy and complacent, he was resistant and at times a bit hostile. The entire place needed to be updated -- both the décor and the teachers -- and that was a monumental task. I don't know if I would have been able to pull it off, but Dr. Flavio really is motivational. And in the end I was proud of everyone at Flavio's beauty school, especially Tiana. And I think Dr. Flavio had a weight lifted off of his shoulders, but he still better watch where he puts that cane!
