Tomás, the shoemaker
One of those characters I remember is Mr. Tomás, the shoemaker in the neighborhood where I grew up. For as long as I can remember, Mr. Tomas lived two blocks away from my house, although my mother has said that no, he lived one block away, she says, and her statement makes me doubt the veracity of my memories.
Anyway, it was normal that from time to time, I would go with my mother or my father to Mr. Tomás' workshop, which was located in his house. It was a humble house, small, without major decorative elements, with a sign next to the front door made of wood and black paint, which read: “Shoes are repaired”.
There are two things I remember: the smell of glue and bitumen that impregnated my sense of smell as soon as I entered the house and seeing how Mr. Tomás was missing a leg. My curious eyes, no matter how much I was scolded by my mother for my indiscretion, could not fail to see it:
"Don't be imprudent",_ my mother would pinch me and order me to stop looking at that missing space on his body.
"This leg I lost because I faced a tiger. That battle was terrible. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I pulled out knives and pistols, but the tiger, who knew nothing about knives and pistols, would pounce on me with fangs bigger than compai Martin. I lost my leg, but the tiger lost his tail". -Because it's better to lose a leg than to lose a tail,” said Mr. Tomás, and everyone laughed and said yes.
At other times, it was not a tiger, but a crocodile that Mr. Tomás had faced:
"I was swimming very calmly in the Nile River, once I went on vacation, when suddenly I see a crocodile coming towards me. I was going to swim faster, but I got a cramp in my leg and couldn't do anything. When the crocodile came and bit me, I thanked God, because the leg he took off was the one with the cramp and I was able to swim to the shore and I was saved".
All these anecdotes were accompanied by fantastic statements:
"There inside I have the tiger's tail, I also have the head of a lion and a churuata that I took from an Indian who was chasing me through El Orinoco".
My eyes opened and closed as Señor Tomás spoke and I imagined the cobbler's humble little house full of tunnels, trophies and strange and valuable objects.
Once, I remember, Mr. Tomás said to my dad:
"The good thing about everything is that I never stand on my left foot, I always stand on my right foot because it is the only one I have. The only day I remember standing on my left foot, that day I lost it". -He, my father and everyone present laughed. Today, remembering that anecdote, I also smile at that joke.
All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl
Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends
Click here to read in spanish
Tomás, el zapatero
Hay muchos recuerdos de mi infancia que están distorsionados, no solo por la mirada ingenua que todos los niños tienen, también por la capa de polvo que cubre todas las cosas a través del tiempo. Por eso recuerdo muchas personas más grandes de lo que normalmente eran, más feas, más bellas y hasta algunos lugares están en mi memoria como paraísos terrenales, pero a la luz de hoy, son lugares normales, carentes de atractivo e importancia.
Uno de esos personajes que recuerdo es el señor Tomás, el zapatero del barrio donde crecí. Desde que tengo uso de conciencia, el señor Tomás vivía a dos cuadras de mi casa, aunque mi madre ha dicho que no, que vivía a una cuadra, dice y su afirmación me hace dudar de la veracidad de mis recuerdos.
En fin, era normal que cada cierto tiempo, yo fuera con mi madre o mi padre al taller del señor Tomás, el cual se encontraba en su casa. Era una casa humilde, pequeña, sin mayores elementos decorativos, con un cartel al lado de la puerta principal hecho de madera y pintura negra, el cual que decía: “Se reparan calzados”.
Hay dos cosas que recuerdo: el olor a pega y a betún que impregnaban mi olfato inmediatamente que entraba a la casa y ver cómo al señor Tomás le faltaba una pierna. Mis ojos curiosos, por más que recibía regaños de mi madre por mi indiscreción, no podían dejar de verlo:
_No seas imprudente –me pellizcaba y ordenaba mi mamá para que dejara de ver aquel espacio faltante de su cuerpo.
Pero a pesar de mi mirada impertinente, el señor Tomás nos recibía siempre con una risa y un saludo de alguien que se alegraba de vernos. Era muy jocoso, jovial, alegre y a todo le sacaba un chiste. Mientras reparaba los calzados, en mitad de clavos, tachuelas, potes de pegamento, martillos, el señor Tomás contaba historias que supuestamente había vivido:
_Esta pierna la perdí porque me enfrenté a un tigre. Esa batalla fue terrible. No se la deseo ni a mi peor enemigo. Yo sacaba cuchillos y pistolas, pero el tigre, que no sabía nada de cuchillos y pistolas, se me lanzaba encima con unos colmillos más grandes que el compai Martín. Yo perdí la pierna, pero el tigre perdió el rabo. –contaba y los clientes que iban al taller se reían a carcajadas- Porque es mejor perder una pierna que perder el rabo –afirmaba el señor Tomás y todos, entre risas, decían que sí
Otras veces, no era un tigre, sino un cocodrilo el enemigo con el que el señor Tomás se había enfrentado:
_Yo estaba nadando muy tranquilo en el Río Nilo, una vez que me fui de vacaciones, cuando de repente veo que viene un cocodrilo hacia mí. Yo iba a nadar más rápido, pero me dio un calambre en la pierna y no pude hacer nada. Cuando el cocodrilo vino y me pegó aquel mordisco, yo le di gracias a Dios, porque la pierna que me quitó era la que tenía el calambre y pude nadar hasta la orilla y me salvé.
Todas estas anécdotas, iban con afirmaciones fantásticas:
_Allá adentro tengo el rabo del tigre, también tengo la cabeza de un león y una churuata que le quité a un indio que me estaba persiguiendo por El Orinoco.
Mis ojos se abrían y cerraban a medida que el señor Tomás hablaba e imaginaba la pequeña casa humilde del zapatero llena de túneles, trofeos y objetos extraños y valiosos.
Sin dudas, el mundo era narrativamente más rico, maravilloso, que la realidad en que vivíamos y el señor Tomás, con sus dotes como contador de cuentos, ponía a funcionar la imaginación de todos. Hacía de su condición, la falta de su pierna, toda una novela de aventura que fascinaba a todos sus clientes.
Una vez, recuerdo, que el señor Tomás le dijo a mi papá:
_Lo bueno de todo es que yo nunca me paro con el pie izquierdo, yo siempre me paro con el pie derecho porque es el único que tengo. El único día que recuerdo que me paré con el pie izquierdo, justamente ese día lo perdí. –él, mi padre y todo los presentes se rieron. Hoy yo, recordando esa anécdota también sonrío de aquella ocurrencia.
I smiled while reading your story because it sure did evoke some nostalgia in me. Most of the elderly people I met were talkative and cheerful, and tho their narratives vary each time we talk, nevertheless spending time with them is enjoyable. I mean, there's just that sense of comfort that I feel whenever I talk with them. Thanks for sharing, @nancybriti1! It was a lovely read.
Good day.
You expressed, in a few words, the same feeling I have with the elderly: comfort. Thank you for your comment. Regards
You're welcome. Regards also!
Tomas is a timeless character that probably exists in every culture. I enjoyed your descriptions of him, and in this part in particular, the character shines through:
It may not even be a true tale, but he makes it come alive with humour, and you narrated it very craftily. Well done!
Of course it wasn't real. Mr. Tomás was always inventing adventures. Mom says that he had his leg cut off because of an illness, but he preferred to tell these things because he was very cheerful and witty. Thanks for your comprehensive comments, my friend. I appreciate them the world over. Hugs
Heh! I would've fallen for his tall tales. 😄
Happy and grateful. Many successes for the team
What interesting memories, @nancybriti1! A character like that adds so much color and life to a small town. He clearly loved to make other people smile.
In fact, Mr. Tomas had his leg removed because of a disease, but he, instead of talking about it, made up stories to entertain people. Always a pleasure to read your comments, @jayna. Regards
I was smiling while reading the jokes of Mr Tomas. I’m sure he would have been a very nice person that kids would always want for hang around.
I have a Mr Tomas in my area too while growing up, he always tell us the strangest stories and we believed all because it was always interesting.
This was very refreshing to read and it was the first post I’m reading on a weekend.
Nice work 🫶🏽
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Wow! Happy you liked it. I think the advantage of living in small towns is this kind of characters that always make our life more bearable. The cobbler's life was not the most comfortable, economically, but his house was always full of people listening to his stories. Greetings and thanks again, @fashtioluwa
Yeah
It’s always like that with jovial people
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Infinitely grateful for the support, @ fashtioluwa
There is no doubt that this man is quite a character with his stories and jokes. How wonderful to have the opportunity to meet such wonderful people who add to our lives.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Excellent Saturday.
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