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DEL.ICIO.US“If you’ve got scuffs, go to him for a buff”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Next time a man walks your way, look him over, from head to toe.
Especially the shoes.
If his kicks are scuffed and dull, that $500 suit he might be wearing won’t matter . May as well have cost $50. Shoes, dudes, make the outfit.
Real men know this, and some of those in the know pay regular visits to see Lawrence Hardnett at Bennie’s Shoes in Norcross. He just may be the only shoe-shine man in the county.
“One of the best,” says Brian Shemaria, the manager at Bennie’s, an Atlanta namesake since the 1900s. “He can shine rust.”
And Hardnett just might, given how long he’s been polishing. Almost five decades. He started when he was 12, two years after he began selling newspapers at Porter’s Shine Parlor, a defunct stand that was located in downtown Cincinnati. He practiced for two years before he stepped to the parlor manager and asked to shine the manager’s shoes.
“That was it,” said Hardnett, 57, of Lawrenceville. “Been shining shoes every since.”
Raised by his grandmother in Ohio, Hardnett spent summers with aunts and cousins in the Atlanta area, his birthplace. He always knew he’d return to the South to live one day. In 1989, he did. He tried his hand at other jobs. They didn’t fit or pay as well, though. So he returned to what he knew best. He worked at a shoe-shine stand in downtown Atlanta for eight years. In 1997, he found his way to Norcross, home to one of three Bennie’s Shoes stores.
“He takes his time and does it right,” said Shemaria. “He doesn’t give it the ole one-two. He takes pride in his work. He’s never missed a day. He gets here at 9 in the morning and stays till 5. You can go to the airport, cleaners or wherever, but nobody shines better than him.”
Shining shoes is becoming a dying art. It’s partially a victim of changes in the way men dress, especially in recent years with the move to casual business attire. That fashion trend befits boat shoes and suede bucks, not wing-tips and spectators. And it’s hard to find shoe-shine stands. Like Shemaria mentioned, you generally find them in airports where there’s often one goal:
Get it done. Quick.
Shining shoes also suffers from a cultural stigma and stereotype. Back in the day, blacks gravitated to certain jobs - porter, butler, shoe-shine man - because it was difficult, if not virtually impossible, to pursue white-collar professions. Yes, times have changed, but there’s no doubt a large majority of today’s blacks find certain jobs too Jim Crowish.
Hardnett, who considers himself an independent contractor, understands this. He appears to be at peace knowing that, when he dies, so will his skills. The married father of three grown children has tried to impart his craft to 13- and 14-year-old boys. They tell him they’ll drop by the shop, but for whatever reasons, never show.
“People think it’s a demeaning job,” he told me one day when I dropped off three pairs of dress shoes. “They look at it as an uneducated business that requires no knowledge, no nothing. But physically and mentally, you have to stay up with what’s going on, relate to people, sometimes be a psychiatrist to people.
“And you have to refine yourself, conduct yourself in a proper manner. No cussing. To do this as a business, to make a living, you have to educate yourself. It’s been tough at times, but at 57, I have a home like everybody else.”
It’s Thursday evening and a steady flow of regulars drop by for a $5 shine. Kenneth Russell lives in Fayetteville. Whenever he’s in Gwinnett for business, he comes in. Hardnett gives Russell’s leather slip-ons the standard treatment: five coats of polish, topped off with a neutral coat that, in his word, “simonizes” the shine. Most shoe-shine men use two coats.
“You’d better put a filter on that [camera] lens because you’re going to get a glare with the shine on these shoes,” Russell tells me as I snap photos. “I’m in sales - windows. I have to look my best. As a matter of fact, I’m going to see one of my biggest customers right now.”
I give Russell a look over. Semi-dress slacks. Striped golf shirt. Then I look at those just-polished shoes.
Slick.
When your shoes glisten like that, you can forego a $500 suit and still look sharp.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
Comments
By Atco
October 29, 2007 8:48 AM | Link to this
Rick:
I am fed up with the use of the word “stupid.”
I think you, of all people that I have so long admired for your great articles, should not use that word. I find this word is used by the immature, and those not being properly prepared for a debate, and start getting personal.
Even though you did not use the word as described above, the meaning is still the same.
Regards, Dave Oliver
By gosox
October 29, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this
Dave, maybe you shouldn’t place someone on such a pedestal that their choice of a word (one that is not racist or inciting violence) would devastate you so.
Rick shouldn’t have changed the headline.
By Michael H. Smith
October 29, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this
Genarlow Wilson said he “made stupid decisions”.
France’s president abruptly ended a “60 Minutes” interview aimed at introducing him to U.S. audiences, dubbing it “stupid” and a “big mistake” and refusing to answer questions about his wife.
A family physician once said: Smart People do “stupid” things.
After listening to Bill Cosby this morning on Larry King in a discussion about his new book, “Come on people” and after viewing a Lou Dobbs an interview Warren County Middle School Principle, Truett Abbot: To say it is a lack of mental acuity America would seem very much in order.
Well, Mr. Badie, I think it is safe, though, regrettable to say, the word stupid, while it may appear over-used in the common American vocabulary, it certainly does not remain under-practiced in America.
From our shoes to graduation caps, or lack thereof, America could use a good shine.
By Michael H. Smith
October 29, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this
Excuse the typo please, it should read:
After listening to Bill Cosby this morning on Larry King in a discussion about his new book, “Come on people” and after viewing a Lou Dobbs interview with Warren County Middle School Principle, Truett Abbot: To say it is a lack of mental acuity America would seem very much in order.
“Stupid” mistake. :)
By Weather Man
October 30, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
I LIKE TURTLES
By Weather Man
October 30, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
I LIKE TURTLES
By Weather Man
October 30, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
I LIKE TURTLES
By Weather Man
October 30, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
I LIKE TURTLES
By Weather Man
October 30, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
I LIKE TURTLES