Every so often, someone I don’t even know will restore my faith in humanity. Not for long, and usually in just tiny gestures, but I still think that if more of us were to perform such tiny gestures on a regular basis…
I ran into such a person yesterday.
Backstory: I am trying to save some money and not long ago, my colder weather boots began to leak badly. As finding good vegan boots not made by little Asian kids that actually fit my half-size and very narrow feet would take way too long and cost way too much, I decided to explore something that’s become sadly antiquated: shoe repair.
My beloved boots, imported from Moo Shoes in Manhattan (all vegan and ethical as the name implies), had in three years of heavy wearing became unglued and the soles and heels had badly deteriorated. I over-pronate and strike with the heel or something.
So I decided to pay a visit to my local cobbler. If you didn’t know it was there, you may never have spied Sole Survivors sitting quietly below street level, at 16 Kensington Ave. But then the shop has only been there since September.
I never caught the name of the owner, but she runs a modest-looking business with all sorts of neat shoe-fixing equipment. And I haven’t the slightest idea what any of it is for. So it’s just cool that this woman does.
Fixing my boots would come to, with tax, just over $60. That’s about half of what a new pair of boots of similar quality would cost. And no having to break them in.
She had my boots all better in two days. But no sooner did I get them home than that old problem with the zipper on the left boot resurfaced. I should have mentioned the zipper didn’t always catch when I took them to Ms Shoe Doctor but forgot. Now I was so invested in these boots that I’d have to take them back for further repair.
And I did.
It turned out the problem was simple to fix (if you are a cobbler). No new zipper required.
And she did fix it. And she didn’t charge me.
See, a fairly little thing. It must have been tempting to charge me even five bucks for just knowing what to do. These are tough times for the small business person.
But I was expecting to be out even more money that afternoon and then suddenly wasn’t. And these are tough times for writers as well.
And it made me think my efforts weren’t so futile after all.
Which means your efforts aren’t futile either. So why not take those beloved satin pumps with the broken strap you can’t bear to throw out but can’t wear either down to Sole Survivor and give them a second chance at glory. Don’t wear pumps: any shoe will do. Save money, resources and maybe humanity too.
