I was nine years old the first time I worked with my father. He had his own shoeshine and shoe repair business in the food court at 1850 K St. NW. I used to work beside him every summer when I was growing up. It was a special time, just me and my dad.
I learned a lot from my dad. I learned a lot of my business techniques from him, and I how to pull my own self up by my bootstraps.
My father taught me that if you mix business with pleasure, you’ll lose a lot of customers. He said, “Don’t share your personal stories with them. If they want to talk then you listen, but you don’t have to share your own personal business.”
When I got older, I heard so many stories about men and women cheating that I can hardly remember a one. Some women said they wanted to be with me instead of their husbands. I told them I don’t mix business with pleasure.
One man, a member of Congress, had two houses. His wife lived in one and his secret girlfriend lived in the other.
It was like working in a barber shop. Customers feel open to you. They figure a shoeshine man has been through a lot, just like a barbershop man; they feel that you can help them with their problems.
Once people had money, they seemed to have additional problems in their lives. They would talk about money problems. They would tell about their teenage kids getting into trouble. I knew about that because growing up, I had to take care of my three brothers and two sisters. They are like my kids.
Like my father, my mother played a big role in my life. I love her so much. She taught me how to respect a woman. She beat it into me! We always had food to eat, three meals a day. When we got older, Mom went to work as a secretary, which is what she does now.
I’ve been working for about thirty years now, doing shoeshine and shoe repair for Congressmen and others. I know a lot of the Congressmen and I know the judges in Federal Court and Superior Court.
I remember when some of the judges were lawyers fresh out of law school (some were paralegals first). That’s how long I’ve been doing it. They seem a lot busier now. They still talk to me, though, when they see me.
