Author's Note: I hadn't opened a can of shoe polish in more than a decade. For the first time- since I retired - I had to wear "hard shoes". When I took them out of the closet, they looked like someone had thrown them in a dumpster. So I bought shoe polish, a brush, and a soft cloth and went to work. And this is the email I sent out to my friends afterwords.

The smell of Kiwi shoe polish - made my day.

Aloha All,

I had to shine my shoes after a decade of neglect. When I opened the can of shoe polish, the smell triggered so many memories. My first can of shoe polish was bought for me by my brother Bobbie. The rest...is History.

My brother Bobby taught me to spit shine shoes. I was never as good as him. But I did learn enough to make a side income and pin money while I was in the Army. I charged fifty cents for a “Buffed Shine” and a whopping dollar for a “Spit Shine.” On the day before Inspections, or Parades, I sometimes did as many as twenty pairs of boots, or shoes. And if you wanted to win Supernumerary (and get to sit with the Staff Duty Officer instead of pulling Guard Duty) I charged an exorbitant …Three Bucks!

My brother Bobby could do a pair of shoes to Supernumerary Level in about five minutes and a truly good Spit Shine in about half that. A buff, heck, he could pull that off in less than a minute. He used a double soft brush technique and then snapped the rag…and Voila…shiny shoes!

I was not in his Class. His tips came because the shine was so good. Mine came because I was so tiny and cute. I wasn’t anywhere near as fast as Bobby, but in my Prime, I could compete with his Spit Shine …just five or ten minutes behind him. I was slower - by far- and his shines were perfect …every time. He gave me his old shoe box when he left the house, but I never made anywhere near the money he did. But I made up for it in the Army! I started shining other Soldiers Shoes in Basic…and word got out.

So I was able to afford my grilled cheeses and French fries at the Grill.

So here is what the shoes from my closet looked like. Unworn since 2013:

Not good. And after fifteen minutes: Buffed. I’m pretty stoked about the outcome. Not a spit shine…wrong kind of leather. But for a before and after scene…I like it.

When I first opened the Kiwi - the smell brought back instant memories. I don’t know how many hours I spent on the steps of Barracks in Germany, Hawaii, New Zealand, Texas, Georgia, N Carolina, S Carolina…and assorted other places…polishing shoes, boots, or dress shoes.

Memories came pounding up the stairs from the basement of my mind…and not all were from the Army days. I can still hear the snap of my brother Bobbies polishing cloth…or the feel of cotton balls on an already slick toe of a pair of Airborne Jump Boots. ( Side note: My brother Bobby would never use cotton balls, he said they left "streaks".)

One memory of a Retired Army Colonel on a Cruise Ship betting the two other Retired Officers sitting with him that my shoes were not Patent Leather, but a really good Spit Shine. He won the bet! The other two bought me dinner at the Steak House and asked where I was when they went to the Academy. That was a high compliment. LOL

I won't give away my secrets, but Jump boots did pretty good in an oven. LOL