Field Maintenance

Street silt from five days on the exterior perimeter still clung to my boot treads. Beneath the low nylon canopy of the deployed umbrella, I located a dense horsehair shoe brush resting beside a tin of dark wax. The wooden block was solid beech, its dark bristles stiff and uniform. Bracing my left boot against the polished rim of the wax tin, I used both gauntlets to work the bristles across my soles, clearing away compacted asphalt dust and dried silt. Every tread groove was restored to clean matte black. Preparedness demands rigorous equipment maintenance.