LAX, 9 am sharp, Friday morning, that early day fog up and down the coast. Morning's not a good time to work the airport - not today at least - except for everyone using it to leave town. Nacho told me this, and he knew what he was doing; siguiendo él no hay un mejor clientèle.

On my way home for the first time in awhile, worse for the wear but ready for some rest. Philadelphia was where I grew up.... out there none of this circus was ever really seen. Queequeg wouldn't even come in on the radar in Los Ángeles, "just another freak in the freak show," like the man once said.

Ready to board the plane we all were in line, but the ATC union got all worked up and we're gonna sit here for an hour; that's where Ignacio comes in.

--Shoeshining, he said, I do that for you but not much else.

Tried to speak direct to him, he having a thick, halting accent like people who can spit out more than they take in, rather than the other way round. Under a gray sky like this his business doesn't suffer like the poor hustling saps out on Market St.





--Verdaderamente secos, estes zapatos que tiene, señor.

What could I do? Xtlilxochitl no soy. Yeah I do my best to look after them, keep them from getting thirsty, but I hadn't even used them in two months. Zambulleste, Nachito, do your thing, pues watch out cause mis socketines no son negros, no las ensucies.

Ample paste applied to the canvas, sponged off a bit and then glossed on out. Buttery wax lavishly brushed, left right and center. Cada lado alimentado, wolfing it down faster than a free sandwich in a crowded prison.

Dos veces cada moción, adelante, atrás, repite, repetido. Each twinned outdoing the other.

--From up here, 'nathio, I gotta tell you, the view is great. Gotta be 25 million people in this city, but how many look, like, real good on a regular daily basis?
--Half... no sé... muchas.
--I'd say bien más, judging from this bunch.
--Joder, siempre hay hermosura por aqui, indo a Las Vegas, Nueva York, esas.
--Kills you just to think about it.

Lots of different types of people. Men over there look like some imams.





--...Não era assim não, cara, é tipo, ele sufre, tem macaquinhos no sotão. Oi, já viu essas, ali?…
...پس زبان آنها ر ا تغيير خو اهيم داد تا سخن يکديگر ر ا نفهمند... --
--...qu'on s'est disputé violemment, je'n' sais pas trop c'qu'on a pu se dire, mais je ne préfère pas m'en rappeler...
--...Równie dobrze mogłoby to być w chińsku...
--...山后住的颜眼圆...


--Tanta cosa aqui tá te pasando, hombre, es un banquete. Ubicandote así, que genio... que su vista es incomparable.
--Vete, you're all set.

When he said that he recoiled, glanced again at the leather and saw it wasn't quite satiated. X-ing the shoes one last time with the cloth it snapped, he buffed the fronts and sides. Yrs truly being happy, impressed even, with the whole thing, I knew I'd have to return the favor.

--Zapatos son tu vida, ¿no? A mi no son, pero hoy, sí me importarán muchos. Bien hecho, Ignacio, y mil gracias. Che no tengo nada conmigo salva estas moneditas que son mis únicas.
--Dame lo que quieres. Está bien.

Found some bills on the street that morning, I had, and they were waiting in my pocket for a good time to leave. Gave him as such the two tens I hadn't earned and that I was just looking to drop anyway. He took it without a word and moved on to the cowboys sat down after me. It was the only language he meant to speak all day.