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Shoe repair while you wait, Qingdao style
We only had one day to spend in Qingdao, so Mal and I decided to hire a guide and a driver for the day. In his haste to leave the ship Mal caught the toe of his shoe on the underside of the metal gangway. In one of those strange occurrences in life the shoe made contact with a sharp piece of metal at exactly the right angle, and with exactly the right force, that the stitching joining the top of the shoe to the front and sides got cut leaving a two centimeter hole. These are Mal's, "long distance," walking shoes and their loss would be significant. When our guide asked us how we would like to spend our day, Mal tacked on a request for a shoe repair shop that could possible repair his shoe while he waited.
A mention of the sad plight of the shoe didn't arise again until late in the afternoon when we were returning to the ship. "Ah yes," said our guide, and directed our driver to exit the highway. We were immediately plunged into a world of narrow cobbled streets and alleyways awash with overhead laundry.After squirreling around for five or ten minutes we were suddenly treated to a chorus of the Chinese equivalent of, "Eureka". There, on the sidewalk,was a little old shoe repair lady, complete with sewing machine, and surrounded by her neighbors and friends. Mal was offered a small stool to sit on and the offending shoe was removed and replaced by a brocade slipper.
Twenty minutes and one dollar twenty-five cents later Mal's shoe was returned to him looking like new. There was no evidence that it had ever been damaged.
Our guide explained to the group that we were going around the world by ship, so after the shoe was returned to Mal, there was much bowing and nodding of heads. They asked our guide to tell us that they were very happyto be of service to such distinguished guests.
Signed
Your distinguished guest
Anne Marie
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