[hprotagonist]

In those days, anywhere you found a Payless, you found kids who knew they were getting subpar shoes, but also knew to appreciate them because they were better than not getting new shoes at all.

Yup. That's exactly it. ( I wore my fair share of really crappy gym-class shoes, too.)

[tootie]

My FIL grew up dirt poor in a developing country and was frequently short of food and shoes to wear. His favorite things in America are fast food and Payless.