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Most folks spend their days daydreaming or finding clues |
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My whole life I've been here at the train station shining shoes |
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I started when I was nine, on my own and taught myself |
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No complaints, I'm doing pretty good and I got my health |
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Memories and calluses, my hearing's probably next to go |
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Sometimes I do a little handy work for extra dough |
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But mostly this here is how I spend my time |
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And I've perfected a technique I call the dry shine |
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Some guys use lots of water on the shoe but then |
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When it's out in the open air it's gone in ten minutes |
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That whole approach to the job is dumb, in fact |
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Dollars to donuts, that customer won't be coming back |
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This is the most common mistake of the amateurs |
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Going for big numbers to satisfy their managers |
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Anyway, the dry shine, the first thing I mean to do |
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And this part is very important, I clean the shoe |
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The residue and old polish to keep the shoe from being ruined |
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All you need to do is use a rag with some cleaning fluid |
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If the shoe's all caked up with gunk you need to think |
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The shoe can't breathe and that's what causes the feet to stink |
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They took Carfoine off the market, I believe |
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It was a few years ago cause that leather couldn't breathe |
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Now once you've cleaned the shoe and it's dried |
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Your base coat of polish can now be applied |
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Then you brush, cause what that tends to do |
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Is clean the shoe a little more and gets rid of the residue |
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And then you do the second coat just like the first one |
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You brush it, you rag it, and voila, your work is done |
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And that's it, you treat each shoe like it's special |
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Care about your work, and be a professional |
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There's a right way to go about your job and a wrong one |
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I find this way is much better in the long run |
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It ain't about the dollar or trying to go fast |
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Unless you take pride in what you're doing, it won't last |
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Craftsmanship is a quality that some lack |
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You got to give people a reason for them to come back |
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The world's a different place than what I was introduced to |
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They don't wear shineable shoes like they used to |
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Casual clothes in the office, what is this |
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The villain in sneakers is killing my business |
