99-year-old beautician is finally ready to retire after 73 years


After 73 years of perms, haircuts, and updos, Callie Terrell of Memphis, Tennessee, is ready to put her scissors and brush down for good.
Terrell will turn 100 on Nov. 26, and she has set that as her retirement date. "I work because this is what I've enjoyed doing all my life," she told WREG. "From a little girl I always loved messing with my sisters' hair." Terrell was issued her first cosmetology license on Jan. 30, 1945, and she once owned her own busy salon; now, she rents a space and only sees longtime customers, including her daughter, Inez.
Terrell likes to stay busy by doing "exciting" things, and when she retires, she plans on having an even more active social life. "Most old people, they're so dry and droll," she said. "I can't deal with that. I gotta live and do the things that make me happy." Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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