Columns

Recent Blog Posts

Friday Afternoon Electoral Parlor Game: You Make the Call!
[Pith in the Wind] Fri Nov 21, 12:31 PM
Thompson Drops RNC Bid
[Pith in the Wind] Fri Nov 21, 10:36 AM
Is Odom the Right Choice for House Democrats?
[Pith in the Wind] Fri Nov 21, 5:46 AM
Lamchop Documentary How to Live a Normal Life up on YouTube
[Nashville Cream] Fri Nov 21, 11:43 AM
Big Time Weekend Sale at Grand Palace Records
[Nashville Cream] Fri Nov 21, 11:28 AM
Awful Salsa
[Bites] Fri Nov 21, 2:16 PM

Recent Articles

Recent Articles by Eric England

National Features >

SF Weekly
Pinot Bizarre
You won't believe the California wine industry's latest new-age craze.
By Joe Eskenazi
Westword
The Snowboard Bandits
They lived for excitement, but the FBI got the final thrill.
By Joel Warner
Seattle Weekly
"Trash Fish"
Chuck Bundrant built an unlikely seafood empire--with a little help from Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.
By Laura Onstot
Village Voice
The Transformation of Mike Bloomberg
How a benevolent billionaire mayor ended up owning us all.
By Wayne Barrett

write to the editor | email a friend | print article | write your comment

A Face in the Crowd

Eric England

Published on October 13, 2005

RUBY PERCY, Percy’s Shine Service, the Arcade How long have you been shining shoes? About 42 or 43 years.How long has the service been in the Arcade? About 15, going on 20 years. We shined shoes all over Jefferson Street before that.Is this place like the hairdressers? Do people tell you everything? Well, I mostly give advice. Give me an example. Well, whatever you do you gotta like it, or you ain’t gonna be at it long. What ever that is—or you’ll just be floatin’.How many pairs of shoes do you see in a day? That depends on the condition of the shoes. Quite a few.How much is a shine these days? Down here, about six dollars. How much was it 43 years ago? 25 cents.I’ve seen pictures of people lighting shoes on fire when they’re shining them. Do you do that? No, people used to do that a long time ago. That was mostly GI boots. You could set somebody’s pants leg on fire doing that.

write your comment