I wrote a column on March 8, 2022, about toenails. Yes, toenails. If you are daring, follow the link. It wasn’t a good column to read while eating oatmeal then, and it still isn’t now, but it did generate a lot of reader response.
Don't worry. This column is safe — or at least safer.
The gist of the 2022 column was that, as we age, our toenails do, too — and not for the better. The overwhelming response I received from readers was to have a pedicure. My wife told me the same thing, as did my daughters and even some of my male friends. Even so, I resisted — until last week.
The problem started a few years ago when my toenails invited their ugly cousin, the ingrown toenail, to the party. Despite my crafty trimming efforts, I could not get these dastardly daggers under control, and the foot pain was getting to be a bit much.
A few weeks ago, my youngest daughter, Abby, lined up a pedicure for the both of us. It was good for her because she thought I would buy. Then I bailed on the appointment. Chickened out, you might say. I simply couldn't “toe the line.”
Last week, my middle daughter, Samantha, went for another effort, suggesting that we go out for dinner together afterwards. That was more enticing, and the pain was worsening, so I agreed.
I had a pedicure once before, about 20 years ago in a small town in Nebraska by a teenage employee who I am fairly certain was on her maiden pedicuring voyage. It was not a positive experience. I set that memory aside and decided to give it another shot.
Soaking. Oiling. Massaging. Trimming. Buffing. It was heaven, especially after this professional pulled out an inch-long toenail sliver from the side of my toe. “That must have been growing in there for years,” she exclaimed.
Many of you know the story about Androcles and the lion, or some version of it. The tale goes that a man befriended a lion by pulling a thorn from its paw. I suddenly could relate. And from this point forward, I am a believer in — and will be a regular customer for — pedicures.
Live and learn.
Have a magnificent Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com
View Shane Goodman's archived columns from past issues here. | 
