It's funny... at first, I hated shining shoes/boots. Then you learn, then appreciate, why it is important to do so whether in uniform or out. Trenches in Ukraine are demonstrating why you shine your boots in a time when just 1 year ago, people were convinced "we'll NEVER see that kind of war again!" Also, I have a pair of really nice dress shoes that I actually bought in Gainesville in 1989. I still have and wear that same pair of shoes. About 2 years ago, I took them to a really good local cowboy boot place and asked if they could resole them. When I picked them up, it was the owner that gave them back to me and he said "nice shoes, how old are they?" When I told him 30 years and that I just saddle soap and shine them, he said, "they're really good shoes, keep doing that and they'll last another 30."