The Other Shoe
Wherever we walked through old Quito we were swarmed by very young unsmiling children desperate to sell trinkets or to shine our shoes to get a little cash. These kids were sweet (mostly), unwashed, and very persistent. When we spotted the hardened young adult pressuring them to sell more, we understood their twin desperation of poverty and safety.
The gently aggressive shoe shiners were the equivalent of unwanted windshield washers for pedestrians. When one of the youngest shoe shiners pleaded with Cheryl to accept a shine, she turned the tables on this adorable boy and offered to shine his filthy shoes – and pay him to do it. He couldn’t have been more than four years old. No one had ever shined his shoes before. As Cheryl sat on the ground at his feet, and lifted his tiny shoe onto the box to shine, his face lit up. Swarms of young shoe shiners surrounded them, smiling, laughing — a moment of joy in a long work day. To be noticed, to be treated as an equal, to be pampered — if only for a moment — was a special gift, easy to give, that will be long-remembered by that crowd of kids and by all of us adults who were touched by Cheryl’s simple act of kindness.
| June 3rd, 2009 at 6:36 am
My heart is in my throat just thinking about this! Cheryl you are an inspiration, I just cannot wait to tell my kids your story. a little kindness will go along way here…. amazing… just amazing!
| June 9th, 2009 at 9:09 am
I wonder how many of us have been presented with such an opportunity but did not recognize it? Kudo’s to MsGreene for not only recognizing the opportunity, but stepping up to the plate to make a difference!
| June 9th, 2009 at 9:17 am
When I was in Peace Corps in Mali, many young beggars were like these kids — forced to collect money for their “caretakers.” Not once did I ever think of helping them in such a beautiful way. This is a heartwarming anecdote that illustrates how giving and open you both are.
| June 9th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I’ve read this several times today, and keep coming back. I can’t even find the words to describe how much I appreciate you sharing this story, and I hope it touches others the way it’s touched me.
| July 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
[...] As a player on the GreeneTeam (our name for the DrGreene.com staff), I admire our leader Cheryl Greene for so many reasons: her tireless dedication to DrGreene.com, her humor in dealing with life’s little emergencies, her passion to help parents learn as much as they can about how to raise healthy, happy children…. During the Greenes’ recent vacation, a small gesture gave me another reason to call her my hero (Read the story of her short-lived career as an Ecuadoran shoe shiner.) [...]