LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
Pedestrians in the Betoota CBD today were gifted an absolute treat today as veteran window cleaner Tommy Podolinksi spent the morning really doing his stuff.
An economic staple of Little Putney Street, Podolinksi, or Pods as he’s affectionately known by locals, claims to have been cleaning windows since he could hold a squeegee.
“Back then, the windows were made of brick and only the wealthy [people] had them,” stated Podolinksi, perhaps exaggerating a detail or two.
“My tata taught me the way of the window and how to do it with no streaks. No streaks! I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I leave no streaks.”
In reality, Pods is one of the one percent of contractors that live up to their boasts.
Our reporting team watched as the wizened window wizard seemed to make a cafe’s glass front vanish with the whimsical twists and twirls of his squeegee.
While watching Pods weave his magic, an audience gradually formed including a school excursion group who decided this was better than the zoo and a poet who used him as the day’s inspiration.
Unperturbed by the crowd, Podolinksi finished his cleaning with the humblest of flourishes, collecting $40 in cash from the girl at the till before moving down to the real estate agents office who don’t know Pods charges them double.
“Heh heh heh! That’s what they get for being dishonest!”
