A number of years ago, I spent the afternoon of Cinco de Mayo in Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico.  The cantina was filled with Gringos celebrating the holiday, with most of them of the US variety living north of the Rio Grande.

As we sat there drinking beer and having a jolly good time, I noticed an older fellow with a shoe shine box making his way through the crowd, stopping at each table to sell his services.  He finally made his way to our table and asked me if I wanted my shoes shined.  At the time I was wearing a pair of beat-up cloth sneakers that had seen their better days and then some.  I pointed to them and politely declined his offer.  To my surprise, he promptly pulled a bottle of liquid white shoe polish out of his box and pointed to my sneakers.  The polish was the old-fashioned kind used back in the days when white shoes were standard issue for nurses and baby shoes came in only one color.

I didn’t get my shoes shined, but I did end up giving the guy a “thumbs up” and a few dollars for his effort!