When Henry Ford came along, cars were for rich people in big cities.
They were expensive to buy and prone to failures requiring a specially
equipped shop and specially trained mechanics.
Ford lost his wealthy backers because he spent extra years developing a
machine that frugal people could rely on and that an ordinary mechanic
could fix. He also developed ways to manufacture them cheaply.
When Ralph Nader was in the Army he bought a lifetime supply of shoes.
Like the Model T, Army shoes were cheap to buy but performed very well.
Years ago I tried a pair of cheap walking shoes. I couldn't walk very
well in them and they wore out very quickly. So for years I have bought
the kind that sell for more than $50.
They've all been disappointments. Often the heels are too long for
smooth walking. Strings flop and come untied. Many are slow to put on
and take off. Some are so heavy I sway when I walk. Some track dirt.
Some get wet inside. Soles come unglued. Tongues don't stay straight.
Many walking shoes have fancy soles molded with air pockets to provide
an exact pattern of springiness. I've found them dangerous. In time,
the sole breaks down internally. Parts of the sole sink more than they
should, and I don't realize it until I'm lame with plantar fasciitis.
If those invisible voids aren't molded right, this can happen when the
shoe is new, too.
The local Dollar General has only one lace-up shoe for men, a Franklin
"Ranch" athletic shoe for $10. I'd ignored it in the past but bought a
pair this week because more expensive shoes had gone bad and left me
with a pain in the heel.
I wanted an expedient for a few days until I could buy better shoes. To
my amazement, these are the first shoes I've bought in 30 years that I
have no complaints about. It will take months of wear to determine how
good they really are, but for now they seem like the Model T of modern
shoes. My heel is improving in days instead of months.
Has anyone else thought much about Franklins or other cheap shoes?
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