Shoe Anvil

In 1967, I worked at Baker Shoes, Eastgate Mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I Waited on two ladies who were, well, how can I say it, very plus sized.  One of them decided on a shoe style, and she said to me, “Let me see this in a size eight.”  I took one look at her foot and thought to myself, “Lady, you haven’t worn a size eight since the eighth grade.”  But I held my tongue.  I wanted to make a sale, not an enemy.  But I had a trick up my sleeve.  I took her “size eight” selection in the back where we had a “shoe anvil”.  A shoe anvil was a steel knob about the size of a small egg mounted on a sturdy rod.  I put each shoe over the knob and twisted and wrung the leather until the shoe stretched two sizes wider.  I put them in the box and brought them out.  The lady put the shoes on and said to her friend, “See, I told you I wore a size eight!”  Another guaranteed sale!  Cha Ching!  Hey, often we let our pride get in our way.  We want to think that our feet are smaller than they really are, our muscles are bigger than they really are, or our waists are smaller than they really are.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”  Hey, it’s easier to start a project than to persevere and finish the project.  And it’s better to be patient than to be proud.  Think about it.