I remember my Grandfather telling me when I was fairly young how important it was to buy good shoes and then maintain them. . .always make sure that there’s a shine on them, no matter what, he’d tell me before giving me a quarter to shine his shoes.
I blame him!
It was a late Friday afternoon and I was in a hurry, just an hour from conducting a funeral and my shoes had sprung a leak–A Big one!
I went into, not a shoe store, but a Department store that had shoes. I talked to a man who was Santa Claus’s brother, maybe even his twin. He was full of information, patience and suggestions.
He actually sized up my feet, which I can’t remember having done since getting my year Easter suit and shoes before Jr. High.
After trying on several brands and styles I settled on a “HEAVEN FOR THE FEET” pair that made clouds feel uncomfortable. They had comfort, style, eye-appeal and looked awesome with the actual suit of clothes I had on for the funeral.
I had seen from the other similar styles that we were talking about $125 range and for a very nice pair of dress shoes, I thought it was reasonable. I mean, I had spent more on my running shoes that never last a season, so these actually promised much more wearability and versatility.
I told him, he didn’t even have to wrap them up. I would wear them out of the store and to the funeral, now 45 minutes from beginning, but less than two miles away.
To the cash register I went. A customer that I will now ever refer to as THE SET-UP RAT, commented on my shoes and told me that he had TWO pairs of them because they felt so good and he would wear one for dress and the other for leisure. He was there to actually buy another pair after, get this, F I V E years.
LESSON OF THE YEAR: AN OPEN MOUTH HEARS NOT AND SEE’S LESS!
I was talking to this gentleman as I reached across the register, took slip that was extended to me on a very nice clipboard, pen included, signed without looking down, shook the hand of Santa’s twin, and the man who was gushing about my shoes (and the ones he was supposedly about to buy) and walked out the door to the funeral.
It was raining…but my feet were dry and, I’ve got to admit, impeccably stylish.
It was on Monday that I got a text from my wife asking me what I had spent $250.00 on Friday.
I told her I didn’t spend $250 on anything, nor would I ever make that kind of an expenditure on anything, that she better call the bank and report that someone might have hacked into our account.
She asked if I had been at the Department store at a certain hour and I went through the vast Data Bank of my mind and tracked down where I was at and right before I was about to tell her more adamantly to call the Bank it hit me like a Sledge hammer to a Tiffany Stained Glass Window: THE SHOES!
O U C H!
THE SHOES weren’t quite as shiny anymore but they remind me of a very valuable lesson EVERY TIME I WEAR THEM–including right now!
AN OPEN MOUTH HEARS NOT AND SEE’S LESS!
My SOLE has never been the same!
Leave a Reply