The owners of a local shoe repair shop asked me to fill in for them for a week. I agreed.
My first day there, Sonja, the counter woman, brought a worn-out pair of work boots to my work area. She showed them to me and asked if I could restitch the soles. I looked them over, then told Sonja the customer will be better served with new soles. I will need to take the boots’ soles completely off, do the stitching, then reassemble them using the worn out old parts, saving him little, if any, money.
Sonja went to the counter, told him what I had said and came back to me again. She said: “He is strapped for cash right now, but plans to start working as a wild land firefighter next week. Is there anything less
expensive you can do to get him by for a while?”
I replied: “I can do hand stitching on some parts, cement other parts and nail some areas to cobble them together. This would get him by for a while.”
Sonja told him. “OK, do that,” he said.
In the meanwhile, a woman customer had come in, overheard their conversation, came to the counter and said, “Do what needs to be done to his boots; I will pay for it. I appreciate these young people who are doing this work. I want him to be safe fighting those awful fires.”
She paid the $85, I did the work and he is now on the line fighting blazes in southern Oregon or northern California.
Jerry Martin
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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