As a refined gentleman, the last thing you want is to step out in dust-ridden shoes. So on this day, I had it on my mind that the first thing upon reaching the CBD was to visit a shoe shiner stall.
I was donned in high top jungle green Vans – dusty and a little faded. They needed a shoe shiner’s touch. My regular shiner was closed, so I embarked on finding a new stall.
I found a couple stalls on the same lane and walked to the last. Some lady was standing next to the stall, getting it ready for business.
“Excuse me ma’am, is there anyone attending to this stall?”
She seemed a bit older than the regular shoe shiners I was used to. So I hoped there was someone else around.
She responded, “Yes, sit yourself comfortable.”
It doesn’t feel right
I climbed onto the raised seat. Feels comortable. Now let’s get these shoes greened anew.
The lady mounted the shoe steps and started preparing sponges to wipe the shoes.
Wait a minute. Something wasn’t right here. How could she be working here?
I expected to be served by someone younger.
“Excuse me ma’am, are you the one handling the shoes?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
It felt utterly disrespectful to have someone as old handle (I can’t even call it ‘clean’) my shoes. So I had to ask once more:
“But aren’t you a bit old for this? It feels disrespectful and uncomfortable.”
I felt compelled to climb out and look for another stall.
But then she stopped suddenly and stared at me. Oh no! I knew I had it coming.
“Nyinyi watoto wa siku hizi.” She began.
This statement translates to, “You kids these days.” Whenever an older person throws the statement at you, you know its a stereotype of the young and carefree.
“You think I’m old, huh?” She went on, ” You want me to sit all day, so I start worrying, then the next thing you know my blood sugar is rising? That’s what you want?”
“No ma’am, I just meant to be respectful.” I tried to calm things down.
“Be careful what you wish for!”
The vast fortune
It hadn’t dawned on me just how rich this woman was. She went ahead to explain the vastness of her wealth.
She had a good footing in the shoe shine business, with over a dozen stalls in the CBD. On top of that, she had matatus (public service vehicles) adding onto her fortunes everyday.
She also boasted of a very large farm, bustling with activity. In fact, she had just seen her workers off to work in the shamba before coming to town. And there’s probably more she didn’t tell.
If you have a good grasp of business, you can already tell that she’s a multimillionaire.
Stunning! How could you be so wealthy and still polish up shoes in the city?
The Matthew principle
“You can never have enough!” She told me at some point, “You have to keep on working. Idleness invites misfortune.”
This was such an elaborate example of the Matthew principle – the rich get richer, and the poor- with just a little – its taken away, and they end up poorer. The resourceful keep adding more, they don’t stop.
She had built up her business empire and it was precious to her, so much that she wouldn’t mind working in one of her stalls. I understood and respected that.
I would do anything for something I built from the ground up. No one understands the value of a business more than its owner.
I walked out of that stall with more than polished Vans. My resolve was even better polished.
WOW! WHAT AN ARTICLE. VERY CREATIVE WAY OF HAVING IT PUT OUT
Am so inspired by this💪.