In second grade, my mom told me to not wear out my good shoes because they did not have money to buy new ones. Well, I must have played rough that day because the heel fell off. The entire next week, mom made me go to school in my bedroom slippers. On Saturday, after my dad got paid, she took me to the store and bought me new ones.
I can attest, that there is no greater shame, then having to tell your classmates that you don’t have any shoes. I began to understand that my family was lower lower lower middle class.