The solution to Douglass problem becomes obvious Essays - Footwear

The solution to Douglas's problem becomes obvious while his family returns from the movie theater. He sees a pair of tennis shoes in the window of the shoe store. Not just any tennis shoes, the "Royal Crown Cream-Sponge Para Litefoot Tennis Shoes" are what Douglas needs to be able to run. His father suggests that Douglas use last year's pair, but Douglas knows that they have lost their magic. The next day, in Sanderson's Shoe Emporium, Mr. Sanderson surprises Douglas. Mr. Sanderson knows exactly what shoes Douglas wants because he has seen him staring at them in the store window. Douglas convinces the old man to try on the sneakers, making him believe that he must truly know them to sell them. While Mr. Sanderson is standing in the brand new sneakers, Douglas makes him an offer. Either he can buy his pair and owe the man one dollar, or else, because of the speed that the shoes give him, Douglas will run through town and do all of the chores that Mr. Sanderson would rather not do himself. Douglas shows such passion in his belief in the power of the shoes, that his speech transports Mr. Sanderson back to his own childhood, when he dreamed of running like gazelles and antelopes. He gives Douglas the shoes in return for merely completing a list of things to do that day, because he was so pleased with the effect of the boy's speech.