When I open a storage unit to check it out before our stuff arrives from the midwest, there are things I wouldn't be surprised by. Old boxes, newspaper, the occasional lost possum or angry raccon. What I don't expect is to open the door and see at least a dozen large boxes of mismatched, well-used high heel shoes. Had I walked into a serious fetishist's secret stash? Will there be blow-up dolls strewn throughout the back of the unit?
Returning to the storage office, the manager was irritated to find that the guy who rents five separate storage units for shoes was expanding his territory without paying. A quick phone call, and I was assured that I would be able to have a shoeless space within an hour or so.
As it turns out, the individual in question apparently collects shoes for distribution in Africa by missionaries. I can only think of one particular class of persons in Africa that would have a burning need for high-heeled shoes, yet are too poor to buy them. But better yet, who gets the collection of winter boots he also collects? Are there people in Kenya wandering about wearing used K-Mart pac boots in 100+ degree temperatures?
This place is going to be far more interesting than were I came from.
1 comment:
The real and serious problem with do-gooder Shoes-for-Africa nitwits and all the other crap we send them. (T-Shirts-for-Africa, Glasses-for-Africa) is that those items they have effectively DESTROYED the native African markets and turned the place into a huge garbage dump.
There are so many FREE Western clothes dumped there that Africa no longer has a functional fabric or garment industry of it's own employing people to do clothing stuff apart from dump-picking - they have all become rag-pickers now... It's really a tragedy and it does them no good whatsoever.
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