The Best New Shoes Are Old Shoes

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the best thing about having shoes repaired by a proper cobbler is that you get shoes that are like new, only better, because they aren't. They come back to you fresh, ready for another few years of service, but with all the comfort and suppleness that the last few years of wear have given them.

Here are my old Florsheim "Imperial Quality" longwings.

Regular readers of this blog may note both the frequency with which I once wore them, and their recent absence. That's because they started to look like this: So I took them to the friendly Armenian gentleman who runs this unassuming little shop:He's a real talker, this cobbler, but I love it. Every time I go see him, he regales me with tales from the old days and homespun shoe advice. I think he likes me because I always bring him well built old shoes to repair. He told me my wingtips are really old. He could tell because the original heels were attached only with nails, no glue. He said this is what shoes looked like when he was an apprentice. He then lamented the fact that he would not be able to repair them in quite the same way, but that of course his work would be top quality. He told me it's too bad they don't make double soles like these anymore, and that if I repaired these shoes every few years, they would last me a lifetime.

Then he said "These shoes deserve real shoe tress, the wooden kind. I only sell plastic ones, because most shoes today are so cheaply made that the tension on a wooden tree will split them. But for these, you should have wood."One week later, they're like new, only better, because they're not.I just need to find an excuse to wear a suit so I can give those new rubber heels a test drive. I've got a couple of surcingle belts that need to be shortened a couple of inches. Who knows what kind of stories I'll get with that.

p.s. on my recent disappearance of the last few days: The 2 year old has been sick as hell. I've been sleeping on the floor in his room, or rather waking up every 1/2 to help him, and keep him out of our room where the baby sleeps. He seems to be feeling much better today. Maybe I can start sleeping in abed again soon. The little girl is doing wonderfully, but she is only three weeks old. Add to that the new(ish) job, school, and the unending laundry, dirty dishes, and clutter that fill my house...well you get the idea.