BY BILL DUNN | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN Page 2 of this newspaper has
a very interesting feature, "Today in History." A few weeks ago
I saw the following entry: "On this date in 1945, the U.S.
government announced the end of shoe rationing." Shoe rationing?
What does that mean? I had never heard of shoe rationing before,
so I looked it up online. It turns out that during World War II
many important consumer products were rationed to help the war
effort, including tires, sugar, meat, butter, and gasoline.
Another product that was rationed was shoes. People were allowed
to purchase no more than three pairs of shoes per year. I
mentioned this to a colleague at work and she exclaimed, "Only
three pairs of shoes per month?!" I said, "No, only three pairs
per year." A half hour later, after the paramedics had revived
her, she said softly, "I need to leave work early today." "Oh,
you want to go home and rest after your fainting spell?" I
asked. "No!" she yelled. "I have to go to the mall and buy some
shoes. That's the onl