BRIDGEPORT ---- When most people say that they have worked at a job all their lives, they usually mean since their early 20s. But for Vincent "Vinnie" Trazzera, 82, it was a career choice made much earlier.

"I was about 12 or 13 years old when I started cutting hair in Sicily," he said. "I had to stand on a box to reach the customers."

Trazzera has been a tonsorial tradition in the Park City since the days when cars had fins and milk came in glass bottles. He cuts hair at the Etna Barber Shop on the upper stretch of Brooklawn Avenue, a place that has changed almost imperceptibly since Kennedy was president. Men still read the paper while waiting their turn, and the mirrored wall is festooned with a ragtag collection of Jets and Mets fan gear.

No one can question Trazzera's work ethic.

"I came here in '55. Came over on a boat. Got off the boat on Monday. On Wednesday, I got my license in Hartford, and I've been working here ever since."

At first, Trazzera, who lives in Trumbull, cut hair at his brother's shop, "next to the police station." That was back when the Police Department headquarters was on Fairfield Avenue.

On June 1, 1959, Trazzera opened Etna; it's named after the angry volcano that's been part of Sicily's lore and literature since Roman times. There's a poster of the volcano taped to the wall.

"I've had the same customers since I got off the boat," he said. "Four generations of them now. There's a baby seat in the back room. I treat customers the best that I can, and I see who comes back."

Like many of his aging customers, he's lost most of his hair. "I wear a hairpiece now," he readily volunteers. "You can't lie about something like that. When you tell a lie, you always have to remember what you say. When you tell the truth, you never think back."

No one ever seems to tire of talking about the travails of the Jets and the Mets, at least in the Etna Barber Shop.

A typical exchange:

"They've got to find a quarterback."

"What are you talking about ---- they have a quarterback."



"You've gotta be kidding."

Although the shop has changed little, the landscape of the haircutting business has.

"No one goes to barber school anymore," volunteers Nino Palella, who owns the shop now. "All the guys now, they want to go to the girls," he said, referring to hairdressing salons.

Even the tradition of getting a haircut before the start of school in September has all but disappeared, Trazzera said. "Years ago, it used to be mandatory to get a haircut before school. Now, no more. They just get a haircut when they feel like it."

The television set is usually off, except when there's a game on. "Most of the games are night games now. We don't watch soap operas."

The shop is closed Sundays and Wednesdays. Haircuts are $16, $13 for seniors.

"For children, we should charge double ---- they take more time."

He's slowed down a little now, but he still can't resist Etna's pull. "I don't work full time anymore. In this business, you spend your life with people every day. If I stayed at home, I'd go nuts."

"That's why he's still married ---- he comes here every day," Palella said. For the record, Terraza has been married to his wife, Emelia, for 58 years. "Eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren."

As for the future, Trazzera said he's taking it day by day. "Only God can make the decision."