And, when your shoes got old you took them to the repair shop or wore your sisters hand-me-downs?
2007-07-28 10:45:47 · 12 answers · asked by ndnquah 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
When I was young we didn't have a lot of money. The last pair of winter boots I had were bought for me at the age of 8. I only had them one week when one of my brothers cut a piece out of the side of them (they were fur lined rubber boots) to fix his bicycle tire. When the high snows came, that hole always got packed tight with snow. I eventually got frostbite in that spot, and I still have the scar on my leg today.
When I was 9 years old, my father quit working for the Union. He was tired of having to pay to get jobs, and pay his dues. And pay to attend meetings (which were compulsory). He was a master carpenter, specializing in finish work, and he couldn't find a job. My mother left the home for the first time in my memory to work for the Post Office and the Liquor Control Board. Both great jobs, but only part time hours. Added to the money she made dressmaking out of her little room in the basement (often working until 2 and 3 a.m. to finish outfits) there was just enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table.
There were at least 3 years where money was so tight, each of us kids only got one homemade gift for Christmas. And my father was ALWAYS angry...out all day trying to scare up work. Having to go to work for one of his brothers as day labour just to bring home SOME money.
The only shoes I had to wear for those 3 years were canvas runners. I got to buy a new pair in September just before school started, and they had to do me for that whole year. Including through the snows of winter. I learned to go barefoot through the summer because I had outgrown the shoes. Truth be known I preferred it.
When my own daughters were young they never went without good shoes that fit. And proper winter boots. Even if I had to scimp somewhere else to pay for them.
Now I won't buy a pair of shoes if they give me blisters. And I still don't have many, but I have more than one pair.
2007-07-28 14:03:30 · answer #1 · answered by Susie Q 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Being the oldest, I didn't get too many hand me downs. I do remember the new shoes rubbing blisters on my heels. We got a new pair of Buster Brown shoes at the beginning of school, they were made of leather and didn't give much in the way of comfort, until they were broken in. We usually went all summer without shoes, so the shoes were pretty tough on our feet..
2007-07-29 14:05:07 · answer #2 · answered by kayboff 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh yes, and always a size larger so you can grow into them. I think that's why I hate buying new shoes now, and it's barefoot whenever I can.
I never had sisters for hand-me-downs, but clothes were also one or two sizes too big, with seams and hems taken in or up and let out and down each year, complete with colour changes advertising to the world that you've grown or expanded.
2007-07-29 09:24:13 · answer #3 · answered by Florence-Anna 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I remember trying on shoes about as cute as the box they came in and then they would put you on what looked like an upright scale and show and x ray of your feet in the shoes. I had a high top pair of gym shoes and one pair of shoes for school. My best friend wore the brown ugly Buster Browns and boy could she kick with those things, I still have lumps on my shins--but we're still friends after almost 60 years.
2007-07-28 17:58:38 · answer #4 · answered by lilabner 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ouch!!! I remember those days well. My mom wouldn't let me break my new shoes in before going back to school, so yes, I came home from school on day one, with blisters on each foot. I do recall my dad taking my worn out shoes to the shoe cobbler, to have new heels put on my shoes. Wow! Am I dating myself or what? ~lol~
2007-07-28 23:24:09 · answer #5 · answered by Shortstuff13 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I still get blisters from new shoes....and resoling shoes is more expensive than just buying new ones today....unless they are very expensive shoes... I wear sneakers, so I don't worry about it. Except dance shoes..they get resoled with great regularity...and that is 40-50 bucks per pop!
2007-07-29 02:01:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I get blisters with new boots. Somehow I got cellulitis from one of them and my foot got swollen and so sore I could barely walk. I got anti-biotics from the doctor and time is all it took.
2007-07-28 18:30:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I never wore my sisters shoes.
2007-07-28 18:13:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Saddle shoes. They were stiff as a board. As soon as possible I was barefoot.
2007-07-28 17:51:14 · answer #9 · answered by gldnsilnc 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Thank you for that painful memory.
2007-07-29 15:22:16 · answer #10 · answered by Ray T 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋