Forty-five years ago I met Pete, the old gentleman who ran the shoeshine stand in the Eastern Airlines Shuttle Terminal at LaGuardia Airport, a stand he’d manned since the late 1940’s.
It’s there I learned the true value of a good shoeshine.
Back then, in olden times, people wore shoes that needed shoe polish, so having a good shine was a grooming ritual for many of us.
Pete was the best in the business.
At the time, the Shuttle terminal at LaGuardia was among the busiest in the nation. Planes flew in and out of New York for Washington D.C. and Boston on the hour. You didn’t need a reservation, first come first serve, no first class, no check-in.
Pete’s stand was about 40 feet from the boarding area. He worked 60 hours a week and would shine as many as 80 pairs of shoes a day. He rarely sat down and was not one for idle chit-chat. Pete was all business.
On any given day, men would stand in line waiting for a shine and among them you’d find the leaders in business, finance, politics and entertainment. All regular customers of Pete.
Why was this? What made Pete’s shoeshine special? Why would someone stand in line for a shoeshine?
Well, for starters, he was really just that good. Nobody, and I mean nobody, could put a shine on a pair of shoes like Pete.
He was a master craftsman, wielding a shoeshine brush like a maestro. It was truly mesmerizing to watch. He could bring the rattiest of shoes back to life.
A shine from Pete always put a smile on my face and added an extra bounce to my step.
One memorable Friday afternoon in October 1978 I joined a line for Pete’s shoeshine that included;
- Roger Mudd from CBS news,
- Mikhail Baryshnikov, principal dancer for the American Ballet, and
- Tip O’Neil, then Speaker of the House of Representatives.
We all wanted the same thing: a shoeshine from Pete, and we were all willing to wait for it.
The thing about Pete’s shoeshine stand — everyone was equal, no one jumped the the line, he played no favorites, no one pair of shoes was more important than another.
On this day my shoes held equal standing with the shoes of these three celebrities.
When it came to my turn I asked; “What’s it like to shine the shoes of so many famous people?”
I’ll never forget how he looked up at me in a grandfatherly kind of way and said,
“Son, my business is with the man’s shoes, not the man. I have no interest in anything but the man’s shoes. You hear me? He comes here for a good shoeshine and he’ll leave here with his shoes shining, nothing more, nothing less.”
There he left it.
I sometimes think back to Pete when I get a little too caught up with the size of my own shadow. I think of this dear man and how he lived so unaffectedly in the presence of others. I ask myself:
- Am I losing touch with my purpose in life?
- Am I putting a shine on each of my days?
- Am I putting smiles on any faces today?
Men lined up for two generations just for the privilege of having their shoes shined by Pete.
He willed thousands of shoes into shiny happiness and along with them the men who wore those shoes. Pete may not have changed the course of history, but he made better the course of many a man’s day.
Can anyone want for anything more in a career than putting a smile on the face of everyone they encounter in a day?
Pete taught me the true value of a great shoeshine.
Just a thought…
Pat
Copyright © 2023 Patrick J. Moriarty. All Rights Reserved.