Spit & Polish

At the school bus’s last stop, a diminutive kindergartener climbed the steppled to sit in the front seat with her legs swinging her black saddle shoes. The white shoe polish on the toes still looked damp. Her mother polished those shoes as carefully as she combed and curled the child’s hair. Polishing shoes is a dying art that Hubby still practices on his black dress shoes. Once in a while he pulls out our box of polishes, brushes and soft rags to shine his shoes. He twists the small aluminum lever on the round flat can to open it before dabbing the applicator brush into the waxy polish. Smearing the brush over the tips, heels and sides of the shoes covers the scuffs. He then uses the big brush and soft cloth rags with maybe a bit of spit to finish polishing the shoes until they shine.The polish not only returns the shiny new look to the shoes, it helps keep the leather supple while also acting as a shield against moisture and as the first defense against scuffing.Being well dressed has meant wearing polished leather shoes most of his life.Like him, I learned to polish my penny loafers. I also figured out how to mend the seams when the threads wore thin and broke. I liked those loafers. So I pulled out a sturdy needle, heavy thread and began sewing. I polished and sewed until the soles wore thin before I went shoe shopping for a new pair. Once upon a time shoe polishing was a weekly ritual. Now most folks slide into sandals or sneakers. Dressing for special occasions once meant time spent giving the shoes a bit of spit and polish. It took time; time that was not always easy to find. For instance, I read years ago of a large family suddenly plunged into mourning and funeral preparation. One man did not ask, “What can I do for you?” He just showed up at their house with his shoe polish kit in hand. “Bring me all your shoes,” he said. They brought him all sizes from toddler to adult shoes. He found a quiet corner, sat down and polished every shoe. Like Jesus silently washing the disciples’s feet, except he showed his love with a shoe brush and polish. He did not bring a casserole. He took over one of the time consuming tasks the family needed done to prepare for the funeral.Few would think of doing that these days since most shoes do not require a shine. The advent of synthetic and cloth shoes brought down the cost of shoes for families and changed the demands for presentation and upkeep. I found it much easier to wipe the dust off the kid’s plastic shoes than rubbing polish into all the folds of leather shoes.Through the years, sneakers, crocs, sandals and faux leather shoes have diminished the need for polishing shoes and shoeshine stands. The only places I may see shoeshining stands anymore would be in densely populated business districts or a super large airport.Years ago, I found what I considered a really nifty wooden shoe shine kit at an estate sale. It had the wooden sole of a shoe on top for carrying the box and propping the foot. We did not have anything like that blonde wooden box. After I took it home, I neatly arranged brushes in various sizes and shapes, lined up the round tins of maroon, black and brown shoe polish and tucked in a cleaning cloth. It looked so useful. We still have it. We rarely use it. The washing machine or a heavy brush takes care of whatever care most of our footwear needs. We no longer practice the Saturday night ritual of polishing shoes for that polished look on Sunday at church or the Monday morning bus ride to school.