Unforgettable Characters Number One: Walt Welch and the "Red Shoes" advice

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Who was Walt Welch, you ask? Well, he was my barber in Santa Ana, California in about 1956 to 1958. He had migrated west from Chicago (I think he said "Chicaga") with his wife. Walt had been a barber in some big hotel back there and he was also a World War One vet who had been gassed while fighting the Germans on the western front in1917. The grocery store was on a corner; then there was an arcade-like area of shops, including the five chair shop where Walt worked. Next to that there was an old-fashioned three or four story Sears store. Walt's wife worked there. They had been married nearly 40 years. I had a pretty serious girlfriend and must have said something to Walt about a fight we had. His advice has stuck with me all these years. "Jimmy", he said, "When that happens with us, I go out and look for a pair of red shoes for her. Red shoes make her feel good and we are okay again." Now the "red shoes" thing is a substitute for "show you care". In Anne's case, it is some flowers in the winter when none are blooming in our garden. We rarely ever have serious disagreements, but I make a point of picking up a little bouquet of something I know she will like in those dark, rainy months. I can hear Walt telling me stories as he cut my hair while I write this.