"Today I ..." spent some of my day-light savings by sitting out in the sun and taking a time-warp back to my childhood by making the effort to give my beaten up old Blundies* a well over-due polish.
Earlier today I resisted the urge to cheat and take the easy way out by buying that sponge delivered "scuff stuff", and instead opted for a tin of Dark Tan Kiwi, a tin of neutral Dubbin (for waterpoofing after the polish), a $1 soft-cloth, and a $1 Brush ... all made for the job.
My after school duties (to earn my 20c a week pocket money) when I was a kid was to chop the wood, light the scary Bremair Hotwater system, and polish my Barters (with the compass in one of the heels) whether I had actually worn them that day or not ... they usually came off my feet the moment I was out of sight of the house and I spent the day at school as barefoot as possible.
I mostly hated all of those jobs - as one would when having to do them day after day, year after year. Today was different.
I popped the lid on the 38g Kiwi polish and The Smell of it began the count-down to the time-warp. Putting one of the Blundy Boots on my left hand and plunging the cloth into the polish to wipe up a big mess of it prepared the way further and by the time I had smeared the first of the boots all over with the wonderfully smelly finger staining polish, I was grinning my head off and well and truly in my past some 35 years ago and wondering why I used to hate doing this so much.
Talk about being a relaxing and an instantly satisfying task. Scuffy/chipped/faded/grotty/riff-raffy looking boots soon transformed into dark and clean and healthy looking leather. I smeared, I wiped, I brushed and brushed, and allowed the smells and sounds of it all along with the sun warming my body to remind me of simpler and slower days and ways.
Sadly, it was all over too fast, but I know that tomorrow at work, when ever I look down at my stained fingers or catch a pleasant wiff of my traditionally polished boots wafting up from under the desk, I'll remember and I'll smile and I'll look forward to when I might choose to take that particular time-warp again.
Tis but a step to the right ...
regarDS
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