So George in agony and despair, stormed into the waiting room of the podiatrist’s office and shouted to the receptionist, “I must see the doctor at once, this is an emergency!”
And of course the receptionist, being an efficient type, told him he needed an appointment. But George was in such pain that he left all protocol aside and cried out even louder that he must see the doctor at once.
The doctor came out of the examining room to find out what the commotion was about.
“Good Doctor, you must help me if you can, I have a pair of shoes that won’t come off of my feet!”
The patients in the waiting room began to laugh. Even Mrs. Wilma who had the worst case of bunions and hadn’t smiled for years let out a chortle.
“Young man,” said the doctor, “If you wish to complain about shoes then go to the shoe repair shop across the street! I work on ill feet, not on ill-fitting shoes!”
And the patients laughed even more.
“Young people are so impractical!” cried Mrs. Wilma and then said to George, “but those are quite a handsome pair of shoes!”
The doctor swiftly grabbed George at the collar and pushed him out the door.
George went to Mr. Plummer’s shoe repair shop that smelled of old leather and dye and pointed to his shoes that wouldn’t come off his feet. George was surprised that Mr. Plummer listened so attentively. He was such a sympathetic listener that he took out a pad of paper and took notes. George was impressed that he measured George’s shoes from every possible direction and then wrote a page of mathematical calculations. Mr. Plummer saw this as a challenge to his profession, and besides it was a break from the monotony of replacing heels and soles on old shoes.
He made George lay down on his workbench and placed his feet in a vise.
“A few taps should loosen them, it’s just a matter of hitting the right spot,” said Mr. Plummer wielding a mallet in his hand.