Elvis Presley released Blue Suede Shoes in March 1956, and I was captivated by the music and the song lyrics. I constantly danced to the song and begged for a pair of these magical shoes of mine that you better not step on! My Mother Ruth thought that they were a luxury item and not a necessity for living. However she told me (challenged me) that If I wanted them and earned the money to purchase them that we would go to Corpus Christi and find a pair. This was all I needed as a support sign and I set about finding three part-time jobs.
1. sweeping out the local barber shop after school for which I earned a quarter each time
2. rolling newspapers and putting a rubber band around them for their front lawn tossed delivery
3. cleaning out the local feed and seed store of any debris and trash on the weekend
I was diligent and in three months I had a shoe box filled with the $40. and proudly showed and counted out to Mother my treasure in coins and bills. Her response was that she would check with the best store in Corpus Christi and we would take a trip to purchase my coveted shoes. The next weekend on Friday afternoon we drove up the coast of Texas, and checked into the nicest hotel in downtown Corpus Christi in walking distance of the elegant department store called Lichtenstein’s.
I was up with the light of dawn and we were waiting outside of the store for their opening. Mother sent me with my shoebox of money to the Men’s Shoe Department and there a portly older sales clerk assisted me. He seemed to know exactly what I desired and after a short visit to the back of the store he emerged with a shoe box which he handed to me … finally he asked if I was going to open the box and so I did and froze in time. A perfect pair of lace up round toe dress shoes in blue suede captured my heart and they were my exact size. He encouraged me to try them on and they fit.
I started dancing across the store to find my Mother and she asked is this what you want to spend your $$ on? I responded Yes! Yes! and continued dancing. As I passed through the store I spotted a pink dress shirt with navy stitching on the collar and down the front placket… Just my size! The pink shirt was priced at $5. The Blue Suede dress shoes were priced at $30.
So including tax, I had enough left over to buy my Mother an Ice Creme Sunday with a cherry on top. We celebrated! She added a pair of grey flannel slacks to my outfit.
Later I learned that Mother had called to Lichtenstein’s in advance and knew they would have my exact shoe size of 7 and a half D.
She had also asked them to display the pink shirt that caught my eye. This was an orchestrated shopping trip to Lichtenstein’s. It was also a test of my desire and learning to earn the price of luxury. I wore those shoes and shirt for every dress up occasion for the next four years and by the end of Senior prom the suede was worn off of the toes of the shoes and my toes were being curled under.
I think I was a proud and cocky boy that owned the only pair of Blue Suede Shoes in the Rio Grande Valley. The shoes were retired when I went to college in fall of 1960. In 2018, I found the dancing do not step on me shoes in a store house with other memories of those special times for earning my way lessons in life.
Entry – October 15, 2018 and September 15, 2019
