Saturdays at the Shoe Repair Shop
1Every Saturday, I help my grandpa at his shoe repair shop on Bell Street. Grandpa Ike is a cobbler. A cobbler is a person who fixes shoes, boots and bags.
2When customers come in, they set their shoes on the counter. I write each name on a paper tag and tie the tag to the shoe. Then I put the shoes on the long shelf behind the counter.
3Grandpa's workbench is in the back room. Above the bench, his tools hang on a board. Beneath the bench, there are rolls of leather and boxes of new heels.
4This morning, a woman brought in boots with a hole in the sole. The sole is the bottom of a shoe, the part that touches the ground. First, Grandpa pulled off the old sole. Next, he cut a new sole from a piece of leather. Then he glued it to the boot. While the glue dried, he stitched a torn strap on a bag with a needle and strong thread.
5After lunch, I polished a pair of brown shoes. I rubbed the polish into the leather in small circles until the shoes were shiny.
6At closing time, Grandpa checked every tag. "By tomorrow, the glue on those boots will be hard," he said. "They can go home on Monday."