The "Heard You Coming" Story

Clark shoes that squeak when I walk.

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with my cobbler about my Clark shoes and the squeaking noise they make.  Only the left shoe makes the noise, but when you walk it is annoying.  When I used to visit with my mom before her death, she always knew when I was coming.  I'd walk down the hall to her room and when I would enter she would smile and say, "Heard you coming."  Cobbler told me Clark shoes aren't what they used to be.  Told me that the Clark Shoe Company was started in England in the early 1800s by brothers who made rugs from sheepskin that they had tanned.  One of the brothers decided to use the scraps to make slippers and that's how it began.  In the mid 1800s Singer invented the sewing machine and the Clark bothers could produce their slippers and shoes at a faster pace.  Eventually, years later after the brothers had died, the cost of producing the shoes forced the Clark Company to move the production of the shoes to places like China, India and Viet Nam.  Evidently the quality wasn't the same by making them with cheaper labor my cobbler reasoned.  But, he also told me that the way that the rubber soles, which are on my shoes, are poured into a mold can allow pockets of air which can cause the problem that I am experienced.  No way he can fix them so I kind of gave up on the shoes and purchased another pair called Clark Originals which had crepe soles.  I got hooked on Clarks years ago when I saw my friends wearing what were called Desert Boots.  Had a crepe sole that was so comfortable that I knew I would be wearing this brand forever.  As I sit here typing I have my Clark Originals on my feet which I purchased about 3 years ago.  With my Shingles problem in my left foot, the Originals seem to provide me with the best cushion for my foot.  Only problem with this pair of shoes is the small tab on the back of the left shoe at the top of the shoe tends to flip up every time I wear them.  Annoying, but at least it doesn't make any noise.  This past Christmas I told Carol I would like another pair exactly like the shoes I was wearing except without the tab that flips up.  She told me to go try a pair on, buy them and she would wrap them for me for Christmas.  To my dismay, they stopped making them!  In their place they had a new Original.  I tried to tell the shoe clerk that you can't make an Original if you already have one called an Original.  Didn't get my point across to him the way I wanted it to, so I gave up and bought the new Originals.  The crepe sole of the new Original is more firm than the crepe sole of the old Original and I can't wear it for long periods or my left foot bothers me.  I still enjoy the crepe sole and will stick with Clarks until I get another pair that sports a squeak in it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Pair of Clark "Originals" that the back flap always goes up on the left shoe.

My second pair of "Originals" that have a firm crepe sole.