My work boots are the most expensive shoes Iâve ever owned.
Also the most comfortable. I chose them after trying on several different brands and comparing lifespan vs usage vs comfort - I needed them for a physically demanding job, not the weekend hiking trails. I could have easily chosen cheaper boots that would have lasted long enough to be worth their low price, but I know the Sam Vimes Boot Theory and knew weaker, less comfortable boots would make my life harder in the long run.
So when the outside edge of the heel started wearing down after three years of heavy use I went to the shop I got them from and said âhey this is a common problem for me with how I walk but now itâs affecting my ankles and knees and I donât wanna have to buy a new pair, is there a way to fix this?â
The salesman at this very fancy upscale boot store said âoh yeah, thereâs a shoe repair place that can give you some heel guards - itâll keep the rubber from wearing out.â
So at 8am this morning right after my 9hr shift ends I went to the shoe repair shop and it is the most hole-in-the-wall, is-this-a-real-business-or-a-mafia-front, am-I-gonna-get-shot tiny cinder block cube Iâve ever seen in my life. I grew up plenty poor and love me a good hole-in-the-wall business, but going from upscale store to this cash-only repair shop gave me whiplash. Wasnât expecting this when a guy who wears three piece suits to sell boots said itâs the best place to go.
The skinny kid behind the counter looks somehow 16 and 25 at the same time, but when I tell him this place was recommended he smiles and says to hand over my boots. I hand him the vaguely warm foot-smelling boots, and stand in my socks in the 3â square entryway surrounded by every color leather polish you could buy and watch as he turns my boots around in his hands, sizes up a crescent moon bits of plastic, and unceremoniously hammers tiny nails through them before handing them back.
The heels are perfectly level again. I can walk without almost rolling my ankles. They donât clack loudly on the pavement or feel different. This is gonna fix my knee pain. It cost $10.
This kid had every tool he needed within arms reach, worked fast and smoothly, I was in and out the door in less than 8 minutes, and it only cost $10.
I didnât think anything could cost only $10 anymore. Iâm so used to hyperinflation prices I was spiritually thrown back to the 1400âs visiting the cobbler in town square. This kid might have been that cobbler and just decided to never die.
Iâm still reeling from the whiplash, and gobsmacked at the price, and thrilled I didnât have to go buy new, worse work boots (cuz I donât have that kind of money for a second pair, Iâm expecting these ones to last a decade) and it feels like I just experienced one of the rare little chunks of magic that floats around our world.
