Mr. Wong's Shoe Mart (standard:non fiction, 818 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Aug 17 2013	Views/Reads: 4757/1901	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A story of a Chinese immigrant that operated a shoe mart for decades in a southern Indian town.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


cobbler is not an Indian and do not belong to low caste cobblers and 

that elevated his social standing in the society. 

Mr. Wong's four sons attended parochial school and learned the 

local language along with English. When his kids spoke in local 

language, people paid more attention to understand their unusual 

accent.  Mr. Wong's eldest son worked with his parents in the shoe 

store, the second one opened a Chinese restaurant next to his father's 

shoe store.  The dishes at his restaurant tasted more Indian than 

Chinese, even the sweet and sour chicken tasted more like a hot curry. 

Mr. Wong's third son made sign boards and logos for businesses.  He 

was the smart one in the family; he used idioms in English in making 

up sign boards like “Cut the Ice,” for a therapist office, “Drink Like 

a Fish,” for a bar, “Every Dog Has His Day,” for a dog training 

school, and other saying like “Health is Wealth,” for a medical 

office, “No Pain, No Gain,” for a dental office, “You Push and We 

Deliver,” for a gynecologist office. He was known for making clever 

logos and sign boards for businesses. 

Mr. Wrong and his wife never showed their feelings; they never 

laughed or even smiled openly like their children. The only time they 

showed their feeling was when their last son was drowned at a local 

beach.  For the very first time people saw them crying. Mr. Wong 

invited Juggernaut's family to attend his son's wake before the 

funeral, Juggernaut's father readily agreed to attend the funeral 

although he would never even consider attending any event let alone a 

funeral if he were to be invited by a native cobbler. 

Juggernaut's father took care of health needs of Wong's 

family; in return for free medical care he supplied shoes for free to 

Juggernaut and other members in his family. For the wake, Wong family 

made real Chinese delicacies never tasted before by Juggernaut. 

As decades went by Mr. Wong appeared frail came out once in a 

while on the side-walk still waving hand in his usual style to ask 

people to clear from the entrances to his son's business places. 

People never paid any attention to his request and yet respected him 

for the quality of shoes sold at his store Wong's Shoe Mart. Mr. Wong 

was only cobbler in town treated equal while the native cobblers were 

anguished under social injustice. 


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