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I bought a vintage pair of Air Jordans on Ebay, that were unused but the rubber outsoles were peeling off because they were made in 2004. After seeing the glowing reviews for George's shop, I thought I'd see if he could save me. It wound up being a wonderful experience. As long as his shop is there, I will be a loyal customer.
So, I showed up first thing this morning and and showed George my sneakers. I confessed that I had tried to fix them myself using superglue, and that I was worried I screwed them up. He joked that if I stuck to my day job, he'd stick to fixing the shoes. I said, you have a deal.
While he was fixing them, he explained why superglue didn't work, which I appreciated. (If you're curious, you need a rubber-based glue, so it can flex rather than break apart.) The glue needed a bit of time to set, and I had time to wait, so we had a fun conversation about careers, college, the way the world is changing with robotics, automation, etc. A couple of George's pals came in and chatted with us too.
My only complaint is that when the job was done, George wouldn't even let me pay him! I even tried to give his buddies some cash, to pay for a round of coffees at least, but they weren't having any of it. Next time (and I will definitely be bringing all my family's shoes and boots to him going forward), I will be prepared to leave some money and run if he tries not to charge me!
Wonderful experience. It was a bit like going back in time - in the best possible way. (Back to when we all weren't so busy, and had time to help one another out.) So refreshing.
TL;DR: If you have shoes, boots, sneakers, etc. that need to be fixed or shined, do yourself a favor and bring them to George. He's awesome.
NOTE: You should double-check his hours on Google. I believe he's only there on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
For fans of George and his shop, there was a really nice article about him on Madison.com.
Here's the link: http://host.madison.com/news/hanging-out-at-the-shoe-repair-shop-george-fabian-an/article_1dbd5216-7f00-5409-a431-c8f391128627.html
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