Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday November 29, 2007

For the last several weeks I have been griping, The Great Blonde insists that gripe is about all I do anymore. My pet gripe lately is about Chinese shoes. I had not paid much attention to the shoes, but have you tried to find a pair of moderately priced shoes made in America, the United States? For years I have worn size 11and ½ D.

Several years ago I began to feel some discomfort and thought, well I am getting along in years, perhaps my feet are shrinking or even growing due to the unrelenting pull of gravity. I went to the shoe department at a French department store, Jacques Penny` and asked for a size 11 and ½ D. The child working in the shoe department looked at me with the blank stare I am used to seeing when I visit folks in the psych wards. She had no idea what I was talking about. She said, "If you will wait, I will get one of the older ladies to help you." It took me days to get over this remark that clearly indicted me as an old geezer. When the older lady came, I took her to be well along in her 30's. The old lady explained that partial sizes are no longer manufactured and so I get a size eleven M or a size 12. Live with it. I guess M is for Manchuria?

I did come to one conclusion, if the Chinese shoes in our stores are made to fit Chinese people, their feet are strangely made. I suppose the wealthier ones in the West are having plastic surgery to walk in a more Western manner.

I walked away from the shoe department muttering to myself, can anything good thing come from China?

I went home and downloaded an interesting piece from Indy's cab driver/philosopher, J. Austin Bennett titled, What Makes us Tick? Austin included one thing the Chinese are famous for, statements that are fit for quoting. I suppose most Chinese do not have names, for many of the best quotes are noted simply: Chinese saying, or Chinese Proverb. I don't like the term proverbs for if they were real proverbs they would be in the Bible. Anyway, here is the quote:

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected with trials."

I like this quote a lot more than the shoes. It is absolutely true, no matter which ethnic groups' representative gave utterance to it.

I have been able as long as I am writing while barefoot to come to deeper appreciation of the Chinese people while reserving the right to dislike their shoes. And while I was musing on why they can say such grand things and make weird fitting shoes it dawned on me, an epiphany if you will, God is using Chinese shoes to polish me for as everyone knows, shoes that do not fit right will polish you in ways that even the infamous Chinese Water Torture cannot touch.

While in Elementary School, one day when I failed to make the daily round to see how the principal was doing, Mrs. Davis, our Third Grade teacher, stated a real gem, "Children think about this: 'A man felt sorry for himself because he had no shoes, until he met a man who had no feet.'" Several kids in the room wore no shoes.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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