Listening Space: A Barbershop Guide to Problem-Solving

Author Barbara Radnofsky, a teacher, lawyer and mediator, illustrates a “how-to” guide to peaceful problem solving, bringing to life the remarkable stories of small-town barber Carlos Villagomez of Webster Texas and his famous astronaut customers.

Carlos the Barber entertains with storytelling about his family, military and life experiences, his peaceful resolution of violent attacks on his barber shop and beer garden and his growth as a community leader in the NASA area. His customer stories provide problem-solving stories of the earliest Mercury astronauts through Apollo moonwalkers to the newest generation of space explorers.

Carlos’ problem-solving abilities draw on his experiences with 14 siblings growing up by the Houston Ship Channel, on a Navy warship on jungle rivers and open sea in Indochina post World War II, to his community service and lifelong friendship with the first American in space, and the gifts brought to Carlos by famed spaceman and moonwalker Admiral Alan Shepard, as he and Carlos continued to work together to solve problems back on Earth.

Enjoy stories ranging from Neil Armstrong, solving travel problems with Carlos after his moon landing, to Shuttle Astronauts, whose haircuts are provided by Carlos’ protege, Jesse Salinas. Like Carlos, Jesse gives back to the community in important, charitable ways. The later stories include a favorite John Glenn story on how the first American to circle the planet engineered his return to space decades later on the Space Shuttle.

Admire Jessie’s customer, Space Shuttle Commander and Vietnam war hero Michael Coats, explaining the long-term impact to the astronaut corps and NASA from a special Mediation — at a presidential level — which put this esteemed astronaut back into space.

This book teaches how to recreate the joy of a barbershop listening space, with several lessons on techniques used by mediators, scientists, teachers, and children as part of school programs. The key: create a process, with agreed ground rules, where the participants can enjoy a space where folks listen and where everyone is treated fairly and with respect. The process allows everyone involved to shares ideas, consider and test solutions, and pick what works best for them.

Outside the barbershop, the peaceful process is called mediation.