It’s tough to admit, but I’ll own it.
I’ve become a bit of a shoe whore.
I acquired this condition in my late forties after spending decades blissfully unaware, rocking pair after pair of white Nike cross trainers. I now wince when I see them.
I also wore one single type of dress shoe for a quarter century. They were plain black Rockport penny loafers. I’d go to the outlet store in Grove City, Pa. and buy 2-3 pairs annually, I’d wear a new pair for “dressy” occasions, keep an okay pair for day to day work. When okay got too run down, I’d discard, then demote dressy Rockports to daily driver status, opening a fresh new box for dress duty. It was a simple system that worked well, until it didn’t.
It stopped dead in its tracks the day I found these brown beauties on a tag along trip to DSW with my lovely wife. I was just minding my own business casually killing time, sighing up & down the aisles while she shopped, when bam, -shoepiphany- they spoke to me, I needed them.
Now walking the path of footwear enlightenment , I never look back. I’ve got a score of dress shoes, laced, monk straps, wingtips, saddle shoes, oxblood, cap-toe. I’ve got running shoes for the treadmill, running shoes for the road, hiking boots, winter hiking books, weightlifting shoes, flip-flop slides, running shoes with little toe fingers. A shoe choice for every occasion, that all trace back to these, the granddaddies of them all.
My soul was ripped when the sole was ripped from the sidewall, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out like the dozens of loafers before them. I found my way to Charles Shoe Repair who saved my sole. This guy is a shoe fixing witch with lovely leather skills. He sewed, stitched, re-soled, cleaned, polished, and relaced my shoe friends to better than new status.
He heeled them.
In today’s over disposable world, where nothing gets fixed, and everything gets replaced, it feels good to repair it. It’s great to support a (very) small business that creates value to people with care and effort. I’d guess in some way, this repair diminished the need for one seven year old to work in a sweat shop in China, & I’m okay with that.
One step at a time, make the world a better place.
Charles Shoe Repair is located at 5823 Mayfield Road. He doesn’t have a website, nor a facebook page, but I hope he gets more customers!