"A Giant Step " by Henry Lewis Gates Jr.

I really liked this short story, it reminds me of that saying " The longer you wait, the more rewarding it will be". This is one of those stories.
I feel like I can relate to him through some weird way. I too, have problems with my hips, and I do go through some sort of pain through out the day. But nothing like having my ligaments torn. My problems come from skateboarding when I was younger and continues to today.
What parts that are most memorable to me is when Mr. Gates wakes up from having the operation. And how he wanted to react with such joy about being able to touch the ground with his foot. But most of all, being really excited about being able to walk into a store and picking out a new pair of shoes. He had waited so long for this moment, almost 40 years, and his time had come.
You can tell that he was just full of joy and wanted to run out of the room skipping down the hallways saying "I can finally buy shoes that I want, goodbye bricks! Hello Dock-Sides!"
I find the end to be the best part, because it is like a bittersweet. He was ready to throw away the old brick style shoes, but they had so many memories together that he just couldn't part with them. But Mr. Gates is ready to hit the town in style with something that he has been waiting over 40 years for.