Be Your Own Person

Anne Lamott: "The idea of spending entire days in someone else’s office doing someone else’s work did not suit my father’s soul.”

I believe that every dreamer wants to be his or her own person, and that this deep longing is tied inextricably to working for themselves. And so I take note when I come across people who seem to be doing just that—being their own person, working in their own way.

I recently came into possession of a pair of gorgeous leather Chelsea boots, which were unfortunately too tight across the arch. Phrased like that, you are maybe wondering how I came into the boots. It’s good to have some wonder in your life.

With the happiness of my feet in mind, I decided to have them stretched. Google surfaced a couple local shoe repair shops for me, and I called one with good reviews nearish my house—Humming Shoe and Watch Services. For just $18 said boots could be made comfortably wearable. Good deal.

When I went in to drop off my boots, the owner was just wrapping up with a man and a woman promoting…ah…shoe things. Who knows what in particular—I noticed brochures and a case of maybe tools or leather or s…