Stock-In-Trade

Kissing dirty sneakers is pretty much a stock-in-trade for the subway footservant. And, of course, that also means he must study lots of socks as he goes about his humble business – including the socks of his customer-mistresses’ boyfriends as they stand next to their women, since they are much better men than him.

Here we see one such happy couple, with the young woman, naturally, having her sneakers kiss-respected by the public subway-slave. Note how her purple sock is all twisted and creased around her ankle caused by the haughty, outstretched positioning of her sneakered foot. Plus, the sock appears to be bobbled and wearing thin in places – all added humiliations for the footslave.

Meanwhile the real ‘stock-ing trade’ walks on by the slave – in the form of devoutly religious Ms Karen madam, who is wearing a delightful pair of highly polished, black leather kneeboots with dark nylon stockings as she climbs down the subway stairs. But the pathetic slave must concentrate on the dirty sneaker and sock in front of him, however much he might like to cop an eyeful of Ms Karen madam’s finest denier, dark nylon stockings as they descend the stairs. And she knows it!

The slave, you see, must focus his menial mind on the task in mouth, and must contemplate the bobbling in the fine, cotton stitching of the pretty Asian mistress’s common-or-garden, purple sock. It’s the law.

But I suppose we all have our crosses to bear!