isa-normaladvance-1913-00034

Description:	34THE NORMAL ADVANCEelk hide, russet or tan leather, corduroy tops,high arch, low heels, high heels, bulldog toe orFrench tip. He may want the shoes long andthin, or short and broad, or may require button, lace or Congo tops. There are. some several thousand other things he may want tohave combined with these few general attributes of shoes, before he can make the clerkrealize and appreciate the proper ideal of agood pair of shoes. Add to this that our shoeartist must fit shoes on sore feet, and you willreadily understand why his job is by no meanswhat could be termed a snap.Still the shoemans troubles are only just begun to be related. We have taken into consideration thus far only the men. The mens department of our usual shoe store occupies a little out-of-the-way corner of the store. Theother part of the store is occupied by theladies footwear. Oh, yes, the ladies shoes,boots and pumps cause much more troublethan the mens. There are so many varieties.The number of different kinds of ladies shoesis incomputable. Our present system of mathematics is entirely adequate when it comes toascertaining the exact total number of snowT-flakes which fall in North America in onewinter, but when it comes to estimating thedifferent kinds of ladies shoes, we shouldeither have our present system enlarged, oranother should be purchased about double orthree times the present ones size.And there is positively no hope of simplifying matters in the least, What is the use?There is not nearly enough variety as it is tosuit the ladies. That is the fact which causesthe shoe clerk to unbox at least one-half ofhis entire stock for the inspection of one ninety-five pound lady, who promises to call another day.Then there remains the childrens department, and naturally the ladies are more anxiousas to the fitting of the feet of their youngstersthan they are concerning their own. My, butit is certainly nice and pleasant to fit children!And so it goes. However, outside of thesefew unimportant little drawbacks the shoe-mans life is one sublime and peaceful song,even so sublime and peaceful as the lives ofthe editor and business manager of a schoolpaper.But that is another story.Air a-gittin cool an coolahFrost a-comin in de night,Hicka nuts an walnuts fallinPossum keepin out of sight Tukey struttin in de ba nyad—Nary step so proud ez his,Keep on struttin Mistah Tukey,You do know whut time it is.—Paul Lawrence Dunbar.
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34479
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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