Thursday, October 21, 2010

294.Putting his foot down


Richard liked things done just so, if there was an optimum method, that was his choice. He was a stickler for presentation. Of course, he scuffed the toes of his Julius Marlows just as often as any other Joe. However, religiously, every Sunday evening, Richard would get his cleaning box out from the bottom of the wardrobe, and go to work on his shoes for the coming week. Not just his Julius Marlows, but all his shoes.

He would lie a protective sheet on the carpet. He opened up a tin of black Kiwi boot polish, and a tin of brown. With one brush, he applied the polish evenly but thoroughly to the leather. He did this to each pair of shoes in turn. Then he changed to the other brush, and burnished each shoe until it shone.

Richard took pride in his appearance. He was of the old school.

5 comments:

Harnett-Hargrove said...

Ah, This may be about Richard, but it's a slice of my father, too. Nice. -J

Julie said...

My father, too. But he served in the army in WW2.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Yes very old school and a great pic to go with.

Julie said...

I liked the style of shoe he had on, very ornate and not much longer for this world.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Don't bet on it. That style of shoe will still be around in 20 years time. There is something timeless and gentlemanly about the style and there are always people of a certain age who want to reflect that in themselves.