My New Fish Heads

Sometimes I can be a real stinker. Okay, don’t everyone pass out from surprise, yes it is true.

Last Saturday, the fourth, or was it Sunday? I don’t remember for sure. How about last weekend? Let’s go with that and I’ll start over.

Last weekend Keri, Morgan, and I went to Kokomo. This isn’t unusual of course, we enjoy shopping and dining there as they have much more to choose from and they have different things to choose from, then we have in Peru. And why shouldn’t they? Kokomo is like four or five times the size of Peru.

Anyway, Keri was looking for some shoes to wear for Easter and for an upcoming wedding. As we were browsing around a shoe store, I found a pair of grey fish head shoes. I’ve been wanting a pair of fish heads for some time, and these were on sale for only $20. They had red and black ones in my size too, but I really wanted these grey ones.

But the left toe, which is dazzling white, had a big dark streak on it that wouldn’t rub off. No problem, I’ll switch the left shoe with one from the other box and be on my way. Only the other pair had the same problem. The black ones and the red ones were pure as snow, both of the right shoes from the grey were too. Both lefts had a, well, a mean streak on them.

So I ask the sales lady what could be done about it. She takes the shoe to see if it will clean up somehow.

About five minutes later she returns, admitting that she couldn’t completely remove the spot. If you know right where to look and are looking at the shoe while holding it you can spot the spot easily enough. But wearing the shoe and looking down while standing and it is very hard to see. Probably no one would ever notice it.

“That’s too bad,” I said. “I really wanted that pair of shoes. Do you have any more in the back?” She assured me that all of their stock was on the shelves; there were no more in the back.

“Man that stinks,” I told her. “Tell me, if I buy this pair can anything be done because of the spot that won’t come off?”

She looks at her manager; the manager says to give me ten percent off. I agree and get my on sale shoes for another two bucks off. From twenty-five down to eighteen now.

The beauty of it is this. Any pair of shoes, no matter how careful you are, will get blemishes on them. It’s a sad fact of life. If, and I stress the word if, someone was to notice this very slight blemish, they would attribute it to normal wear. Chances are good that the first or second time they’re worn they’ll end up with at least that kind of a mark.

But I used it as a handy ruse to get an extra discount. Kind of rotten of me huh?

And what did Keri say about it afterwards? “I trained you well.”

Now who’s the rotten one?