Inspiration/ "Heroes":
In the spirit of Shoe Shine wine, we’d like to take
a brief moment to celebrate and highlight one of the many
wonderful people we’ve met on our journey thus far.
Someone who has spent countless years working to make Other
People look good.
Our Heroes teach us…
they take care of us… and they inspire us. We are – truly
-- very grateful.
Some of the proceeds from the sale of wine each year
will go directly to all of the Shoe Shine Heroes below.
 Pride
& Prejudice
Despite being educated and trained as a civil lawyer
in Iran, in 1948, at the age of 20, Aman Samadani joined
what was then the Anglo Iranian Oil Company. Fully expecting
to stay for his entire professional career, he dreamed
of retiring after several decades to enjoy a well deserved
respite somewhere on the Mediterranean coast. Instead,
fully 62 years later, "Sam" to his customers,
can now be found behind the counter of his Snowbright
Launderette and Cleaners in San Francisco, which he has
owned, reluctantly, since 1984.
Ever so peacefully Sam,
a member of the Baha'i faith, manages the countless daily
exchanges that encompass his work. It wasn't always about
soiled socks and sheets however. Sam long preferred contemplating
the soil under one of the world's largest refineries--
the one he proudly served as Project Materials Co-ordinator
for, with a budget at the time of $1 billion. After 30
years, his dreams and proud work came to an abrupt and
violent end. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 brought a
new muslim theocracy; but also violence and persecution
to the Samadani family and Baha'i community. Sam, his
wife and two girls (age 12 and 18), fled their homeland.
With nothing but a little bit of cash he was lucky enough
to have squirreled away in a Bank of England account
on his vacation travels each summer, he soon arrived
in the US.
 Heartbroken at learning that he was "overqualified" for
jobs at US oil companies, he found Snowbright Launderette
in the Castro district in 1984-- where he has been ever
since. As for his former persecutors? "They wasted
my life."
As for his unexpected 25 year career in
the laundry business: "Now I have to do this...it's
torture, it's suffering."
He left Iran in 1979 as "Aman".
Thirty years later we see another man, "Sam"--weary,
kind, honorable, hopeful, and proud. We are grateful.
You can find Sam most days at Snowbright Launderette,
at 14th Street near Market St in San Francisco.
Know anyone who should be featured? There’s wine
in it for the honoree: please submit any info to heroes[remove]@shoeshinewine.com
Archive of Heroes »
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