Not long ago, the western business community was abuzz with the brave new world of the knowledge society, where manual labor and making things were no longer relevant to our wealth.
Personally, I found the term knowledge society nice but at the same time condescending because it seemed to neglect the knowledge of previous generations. The example of the farmer comes in handy: you cannot do farming without a pretty comprehensive set of knowledge and skills.
Right on the heels of the knowledge society came the service economy, much of the same, just less knowledge and even fewer people who make things.
In light of everything, is it surprising that a few shoeshine men have set up shop again in Germany?
In Big City USA, of course, the shoeshine man never went away completely. The job appeals too much to the American understanding of a man down on his luck putting in an honest day's of work to get back on his feet.
The current German version is a part time shoe shiner, driven more by nostalgia, a liking of good shoes and fun. Where does the modern German shoeshine man get his training?
It is a valid question given the job went extinct over here.
The answer is predictable. The Google Shoeshine Boys, like Dr. Google and others, have put out all the information you need to start shining shoes without destroying a few hundred pairs as part of your learning curve.
If we see a modern German shoeshine man in person in our upcoming tour of Christmas markets, we'll post a photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment