When Landon came home from BYU it was obvious that the snow conditions in Idaho had wreaked havoc on his Sunday shoes. Walking to and from church on the slushy, salty sidewalks made his spiffy Sunday shoes look dirty, faded and worn. He asked me if there was a way to polish them and I instantly felt like I had failed my 19 year old son. Was there a way to polish them???
My thoughts immediately turned to those precious moments spent with my Dad when I was little watching him polish his shoes weekly and being tutored in the fine art of shoe polishing. My Dad definitely had the tools of the trade needed to accomplish the task. He had this amazing brown wooden shoeshine kit that housed everything from polish, brushes, and clothes. I still remember the smell of the waxy shoe polish each time the case was opened. The box had a raised wooden shoe print on the top of it that you would place the shoe that you were polishing while it was on your foot.
I don't have a special box for our shoe polishing supplies. It just kind of gets thrown in the cupboard. Landon and I purchased some supplies at the store so he could take them on his mission and then we had an official shoe shining lesson. I taught him the fine art of shoe polishing the good old fashioned way, unlike the modern way where you just squirt some runny liquid from a bottle onto your shoe and spread it around with the spongy-tipped applicator attached to the top of the bottle and let it dry.
Opening the can of shoe polish brought back a rush of memories. I always loved how the can opened by turning the clip on the side; it just magically popped opened to reveal the dark, wax. I'm surprised that after all these years, the polish is still sold in the same round metal tins. With a paper towel I showed Landon how to apply the pasty substance evenly onto the grungy pair of shoes, with added attention being given to severe scuffs.
When the polish had dried sufficiently I demonstrated to Landon how to use the brush to buff the shoe. In the back of my mind I could see my Dad holding his shoe by placing his hand inside it. I could see him buffing his shoe with swift strokes of his brush, across the toes, along the sides, and never forgetting the back. I remember being taught the importance using the the right brush for the right shoe since he had brushes for black shoes and brushes for brown shoes. The brushes were soft and I would find myself rubbing my fingers along the bristles and sometimes I would even gently rub them on my cheeks.
And then came the "shining" step. Once the polish was buffed I taught Landon how to hold the polishing clothe and with a swift, strong motion watch the dull shoe be changed into a beautifully polished new-looking shoe. This is the step I remember the most while watching my Dad....he would put the shoe on his foot and then place his foot on top of the shoe shine box. Then with both ends of the clothe in each of his hands he would rapidly rub the clothe along the toe of his shoe. He did it so fast, I was always amazed at his speed. The shoe would quickly shine and look new again. In my mind he was a shoe shine pro, the best!
I had a pair of navy blue shoes when I was little and I can remember how special I felt when a jar of blue shoe polish that matched my shoes was added to my Dad's collection of polishes and found a home in his shoe shine kit. There was even a new polishing clothe and brush that became the blue shoe polishing clothe.
Landon learned the art of polishing shoes that night and I had a lovely trip down memory lane with my Dad and his shoe shine kit. Sweet memories. Maybe Landon can share some shoe shining time with his daughters in the future after he perfects his newly acquired skill.
