Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
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eyecareinstitute.com kentuckycenter.org 22 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.17 THE BIT SHIFT Sparkling Steps By Arielle Christian Up before dawn with airport shoe shiners. America's Most Advanced LASIK America's Most Advanced LASIK Wavelight LASIK with Contoura™ Only at The Eye Care Institute Leaders in LASIK® (502) 589-1500 www.EyeCareInstitute.com Aaron Smith checks the time. Past 3 p.m. without the usual 3 p.m. push. Coats wear people who wheel carry-on suitcases through the Louisville International Airport. Smith waits by his Classic Shoe Shine stand — seat elevated, leather studded like a throne — at the head of Terminal A, next to Starbucks. Smiling sweetly, he looks people in the face or feet. Calls, "Five minutes! Shine 'em up!" The 49-year-old started before the sun this morning. The first "push," or influx of people, from 4:30 a.m. through 7. Quiet, then resurrected from 9 to noon. The ebb and flow of folks correlated with the ups and downs of planes. Flock and fade like birds in murmurations. Mondays abuzz with businessmen flying to meetings. On Thursdays, those businessmen land, back in the office by Friday morning. Sunday nights steady with the cross-country flights to Monday conferences in Seattle or L.A. Smith's done 30 pairs of shoes so far this Tuesday. He checks the flight schedule screen. "That's what it is," he says. "Delays in Chicago." Aglow: Canceled, canceled, canceled.