Forty years ago I met a “good one”: an old gentleman who ran a shoeshine stand in the Eastern Airlines Shuttle Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. I was never sure of his name but most people called him Pete.
At the time the hourly shuttle between New York, Boston and Washington was among the busiest in the nation.
- Everyone was guaranteed a seat,
- No reservations needed,
- No boarding passes,
- No seat assignments,
- No first class,
- No check-in.
I flew the Eastern Shuttle frequently during the 1970’s and almost always stopped for a shine. On any given day, you’d find the leading figures in finance, politics, media, entertainment and academia, along with average folks like me, all waiting our turn for a shoeshine from Pete. One Friday afternoon in October 1978 as I stood in line I watched Ed Koch, then Mayor of New York City, getting on the chair while Mikhail Baryshnikov, principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, stood behind me, and Tip O’Neil, then Speaker of the House, in front of me. I swear this really happened.
Pete may have been the best shoeshine artisan in all of America. He could take the rattiest pair of old shoes and make them look new. His clientele was all repeat business; all it took was one shine and you’d make it a point to come back. A shoeshine from Pete just made you feel better. You might have had the crappiest of crappy days but after a Pete shoeshine you’d have a little bounce in your gait. Never failed.
Pete worked 60 hours a week and would shine as many as 80 shoes a day. He almost never sat down. Pete was not one for idle chit chat. He did not suck up to the famous, everyone was equal, and no one jumped to the front of the line. When I pressed him on the point of shining the shoes of the most famous and important people in the world all he could do is look at me as if I were a five-year-old child and say in a gentle, grandfatherly way, “Son, my business is with the man’s shoes, not the man. I tend to my business and leave him to tend to his. If my shoeshine helps him have a better day, all the better. The only thing on my mind is putting the best shine I can on the man’s shoes.”
I sometimes think back to Pete when I get a little too caught up with the glitter and glamour of life and the size of my own shadow.
- Am I looking up from the task at hand?
- Am I losing touch with my purpose in life?
- Am I getting the most out of each of my shines?
- Am I tending to my business or that of another?
- Am I putting a smile on any faces today?
People lined up for 30 years for the privilege of getting a shine from Pete. I don’t know whether Pete changed the course of history, but he did change the course of many a man’s day. In the scheme of things, that seems pretty worthwhile to me.
Just a thought…
Pat
Copyright © 2017 Patrick J. Moriarty. All Rights Reserved.
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Thanks, Pat, a great way into a Sunday.